This document discusses the concept of equality, including: - It defines equality as meaning that all people should have equal opportunities and treatment regardless of background. - It outlines different types of equality, including legal, natural, political, social, and economic equality. - It provides a more in-depth explanation of equality of opportunity, describing formal, substantive, and democratic conceptions of equality of opportunity. It also discusses the role of affirmative action programs.

1. EQUALITY
By
Mr. Mahesh Jaiwantrao Patil
M.A. (Political Science), M.Phil, NET, SET, & Ph.D
(Pursuing)
Assistant Professor,
Narayanrao Chavan Law College, Nanded,
Maharashtra, India.
Cell No. (+91)9860816313

2.  To understand Meaning & definition.
 To understand Nature of equality.
 Types of Equality.
 To elaborate concept Equality of
Opportunity.
 To understand Political Equality &
Affirmative Action concept.

3.  Equality, like liberty is one of the fundamental pillars
of democracy. The American Declaration of
Independence in 1776 proclaims that " We hold these
truths to be self –evident that all men are created
equal ".
 The French Declaration of Rights of Man (1789) also
emphasizes " Men are born , and always continue ,
free and equal in respect of their rights".
 The Charter of United Nations also recognizes
equality in international sphere when it says : " The
organization is based on the principles of sovereign
equality of all its members".

4.  Equality means that all men are equal and should be entitled
equal , opportunity and treatment.
 Equality means all things that are equal when measured by
society's standards.
 Everyone or everything is on the same level in ability, rank,
quality, quantity or social standing.
 Fairness is an essential feature of equality.
 The objective is for all people to receive fair treatment
regardless of their background or social status.
 Government services are one measure of how equality
works in everyday life.
 For example, when applying for a driver's license, everyone
is given the same written and vehicle operation test.

5.  Equality plays a role in both the public and private
sectors on issues of employment.
 Workplaces commonly have non-discrimination
policies based on the principle of equality. Ideally,
employees are treated equally while on the job.
 Equality can also be applied to anything that is uniform
in nature.

6.  Prof Barker:-equality is derived from the supreme value
of the development of in each like and equally , but each
along its own different time and its own separate motion“.

7.  Liberty and Equality taken together, describe the
conditions of human liberation. The problem of
equality and inequality has figured in political
thought since earliest times.
 Aristotle discovered that 'inequality' was a cause of
rebellion in many a state. It is essential to note that the
modern idea of equality is derived from the theory of
rights. Equality is a 'prescriptive' term and not a
'descriptive' term.

8. Kinds of Equality
 Legal.
 Natural.
 Civil.
 Political.
 Social.
 Economic.
 International.

9.  Legal Equality: Legal equality or equality before law
is fundamental to legal justice. Legal equality implies
that all are alike in the eye of law and that are entitled
to its equal protection. The rich and poor , the high and
low should all be treated alike.
 No distinction should be made between man and man
on the ground of social status, religious faith or
political opinion. In short, Legal equality or equality
before law implies absence of discrimination.
 The Rule of Law is practiced in the Great Britain and
many other countries of the world.

10.  Natural Equality : Natural equality rests on the principle that
nature has created every one as equals. On the contrary, in reality
we can seldom find such equality, as the world is prone with more
inequalities than equality. People differ greatly in their
intelligence, height, colour, physical strength and mental makeup.
 Natural equality is meant as the provision of equal treatment and
equal opportunities to all human beings, irrespective of natural
differences.
 It implies that all men are born free and equal and
are endowed with equal gifts and talents. It also means that the
State should try to reduce inequality, rather than increase it.
 The State should provide those social and economic opportunities
that offer equal chances.
 Natural equality is rather an ideal and not an immediate reality.
This ideal should be attained in a society as far as possible.

11.  Political :- Political Equality implies that everyone has
equal access to the avenues of power. All citizens
whatever may be their differences in status , education
and wealth should have an equal voice in the
management of public affairs and in holding public
offices.
 Universal adult franchise is the expression of political
equality.
 All democratic countries are based the principle of
"one man , one vote , one value" is faithfully adopted.
 Equality of opportunity in getting elected and in
holding public offices , freedom of expression and
association and rights to seek redressal of public
grievances are the important pillars of political equality

12.  Social: it means that all citizens are entitled to enjoy equal
status in society and no one is entitled to special
privileges. There may be rational distinction in the society
with regard to occupation and professions, but the feeling
of inferiority and superiority should not be attached to
these.
 It stands for all should be treated equally in the eyes of
law, no discrimination on grounds of colour, caste, creed,
sex, religion etc. , removal of social stigmas like
untouchablity .
 On the 10'th December ,1948. UNO, declared the charter
of Human Rights which laid stress on social equality.

13.  Economic Equality: Economic equality involves a certain
level of income and removal of gross inequalities of wealth.
 Economic equality is the prerequisite for the existence and
enjoyment of political, social and legal equality. It does not
mean equal distribution of wealth, which is not practical, but
prevent the concentration of wealth in a few hands. Economic
condition of an individual essentially influences his political
condition.
 It means that there should be equal opportunity to all citizens
in matters of availability of consumer goods, wealth and
property.
 Similarly every one should have the same facility for jobs,
work and in industry. There should be equal wages for equal
work

14.  International Equality : It means the principle
of equality shall be extended to all people in all
the countries. The same is true of nations and
states. There cannot be different treatment
between states and between people.

15.  Equality of Opportunity (Definition) : Equality of opportunity is a
political ideal that is opposed to caste hierarchy but not to hierarchy
per se. The assumption is that a society contains a hierarchy of more
and less desirable, superior and inferior positions.
 In a caste society, the assignment of individuals to places in the
social hierarchy is fixed by birth.
 Social mobility may be possible in a caste society, but the process
whereby one is admitted to a different level of the hierarchy is open
only to some individuals depending on their initial inscriptive social
status. In contrast, when equality of opportunity prevails, the
assignment of individuals to places in the social hierarchy is
determined by some form of competitive process (Merit), and all
members of society are eligible to compete on equal terms. Different
conceptions of equality of opportunity construe this idea of
competing on equal terms variously.

16.  Formal Equality of Opportunity : Formal quality of
opportunity requires that positions, posts & superior advantages
should be open to all applicants. Applications are assessed on
their merits, and the applicant deemed most qualified according
to appropriate criteria is offered the position.
 Discrimination and Formal Equality of Opportunity :
Whimsical hiring violates formal equality of opportunity just as
much as discrimination against some applicants because the
applicant is a member of a socially disfavored group, the latter is
evidently a more serious violation of formal equality of
opportunity.
 Whereas being the object of discrimination because one is a
group that has been targed for oppressive treatment in the past is
likely to be a wound to one's sense of dignity and self-respect,
being the victim of whimsical or idiosyncratic (Individual)
hiring practices is less likely to inflict a significant psychic
wound over and above the loss of the job itself.

17.  B) Substantive Equality of Opportunity : The
difficulty with formal equality of opportunity is that it is
merely formal. Imagine a society ruled by a hereditary
warrior class. Reformers bring about a change. From
now on, membership in the warrior class will not be
drawn exclusively from the wealthy stratum of the
society. Warriors will instead be selected on the
basis of a competitive examination. However, it turns-
out that only scions of the wealthy stratum pass the exam
and become warriors.
 In this set up advocates for the non-wealthy strata of
society might object that none but members of the
traditional wealthy elite have a chance to satisfy the
eligibility requirements for admission to the warrior
class.

18.  C) Democratic Equality of Fair Opportunity : Equality
of opportunity ideals apply to the process that selects
political rulers and political decisions. Consider two
conceptions of democratic equality. Formal democratic
equality requires that all long-term residents of a political
society be eligible to become citizens and
that all citizens are eligible to vote and stand for office in
free and fair elections that pick law-makers for the society.
 Affirmative Action : The different types of conceptions of
equality of opportunity suggests the complexity of the task
of assessing what are called "affirmative action”
programs in societies that are marred by a history of caste
hierarchy and systematic discrimination that excludes
some groups in the population from any significant
access to the fruits of social cooperation.