Blog - Egalitarianism
versus Anarchism
This roadmap, Go
Lean Caribbean, presents the two sides of the debate on “egalitarianism”:
catering to the Least Common Denominator (LCD) or elevating the achievers.
For
the first argument, an essay by Gary Hull (Ayn Rand Institute) in Capitalism
magazine which stipulates:
Egalitarianism
claims only to want an “equality” in end results, hates the exceptional man
who, through his own mental effort, achieves that which others cannot... In
an attempt to “dumb down” all students to the lowest common denominator,
today's educators no longer promote excellence and students of superior
ability... Imagine the following Academy Award ceremony. There are no awards
for best picture or best actor. Instead, every picture gets a certificate and
every actor receives a prize. That is not an awards ceremony, you say? So it
isn't. But it is an egalitarian's dream -- and an achiever's torment. Talent
and ability create inequality... To rectify this supposed injustice, we are
told to sacrifice the able to the unable. Egalitarianism demands the
punishment and envy of anyone who is better than someone else at anything. We
must tear down the competent and the strong - raze them to the level of the
incompetent and the weak... What would happen to a Thomas Edison today? If he
survived school with his mind intact, he would be shackled by government
regulators. His wealth would be confiscated by the IRS. He would be accused
of 'unfair competition' for inventing so many more products than his
competitors.[a]
On
the other hand, Alexander Berkman argued the contrast:
...equality
does not mean an equal amount but equal opportunity... Do not make the
mistake of identifying equality in liberty with the forced equality of the
convict camp. True anarchist equality implies freedom, not quantity. It does
not mean that every one must eat, drink, or wear the same things, do the same
work, or live in the same manner. Far from it: the very reverse in fact...
Individual needs and tastes differ, as appetites differ. It is equal
opportunity to satisfy them that constitutes true equality... Far from
leveling, such equality opens the door for the greatest possible variety of
activity and development. For human character is diverse.[b]
The CU embraces both sides of this
debate. On the one hand, as a federal
entity, the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) will ensure equal access to
regional opportunities to any petitioner; this is Egalitarian in nature. On
the other hand, this CU roadmap posits the community ethos that one person can make a difference, and can
impact the region for the greater good. The CU will foster the unique
contributions of the achiever. This meritocracy leaning comes down on the
Anarchist side of the debate.
In
this vein, the following missions, aligned by Anarchist and Egalitarian, are
elaborated in the roadmap:
All in all, the Egalitarian versus Anarchist debate
may now be considered anachronistic.
This may have been a valid 1913 argument, but for 2013 it is “irrelevant”.
Today, we must consider all best practices, and embrace all tools, techniques
and talents for success. The people of the Caribbean deserve the best of the
best, despite whatever philosophical leanings.
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a. Egalitarianism: The New Torture Rack, by Gary Hull, Ayn Rand Institute, January 11, 2004
b. Alexander Berkman- Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist. Mother Earth Publishing 1912 - What is Anarchism? pp. 164-5 |
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