Equality of Opportunity
Barry Tanser 050007737
What is ‘equality of opportunity’?
“Equality of opportunity is a political ideal that is opposed to caste hierarchy but not to hierarchy per se” (Arneson)
The rational behind this political ideal is that society is uneven, with privileges, standing and potential for success being heavily influenced by many different factors predetermined by birth. The political ideal places an individual in any given rung of social hierarchy as a result of their background. Equality of opportunity calls on a ‘fairness of outcome’ in society, but there are different conceptions on how this ‘fairness of outcome’ can be achieved and to what degree there can be a level playing field in order to achieve the possibility of any individual transcending economic and social hierarchy. This essay shall deconstruct models for equality of opportunity, examining different views and conceptions in order to better understand equality of opportunity and its associated political ideals, with extensive references to criticism, and arguments that are pro equality of opportunity.
The minimal or formal conception of equality of opportunity has a very basic framework. It dictates that all hierarchal positions in society are available, in theory to every individual. Strictly speaking it is not egalitarian. It merely allows opportunity based on merit and does not take into account a person’s background, whether or not a candidate was disadvantage or advantaged. The minimal or formal conception does not allow for discrimination on the grounds of race, gender or religion in most cases. It lays the foundation for most basic employment and human rights law and is aimed at determining that the most qualified candidates gain the most privileged positions. In the marketplace this has very simple consequences. The marketplace conforms to the minimal or formal conception of equality of opportunity as long as jobs are not offered privately to groups and are publicised adequately
What is ‘equality of opportunity’?
“Equality of opportunity is a political ideal that is opposed to caste hierarchy but not to hierarchy per se” (Arneson)
The rational behind this political ideal is that society is uneven, with privileges, standing and potential for success being heavily influenced by many different factors predetermined by birth. The political ideal places an individual in any given rung of social hierarchy as a result of their background. Equality of opportunity calls on a ‘fairness of outcome’ in society, but there are different conceptions on how this ‘fairness of outcome’ can be achieved and to what degree there can be a level playing field in order to achieve the possibility of any individual transcending economic and social hierarchy. This essay shall deconstruct models for equality of opportunity, examining different views and conceptions in order to better understand equality of opportunity and its associated political ideals, with extensive references to criticism, and arguments that are pro equality of opportunity.
The minimal or formal conception of equality of opportunity has a very basic framework. It dictates that all hierarchal positions in society are available, in theory to every individual. Strictly speaking it is not egalitarian. It merely allows opportunity based on merit and does not take into account a person’s background, whether or not a candidate was disadvantage or advantaged. The minimal or formal conception does not allow for discrimination on the grounds of race, gender or religion in most cases. It lays the foundation for most basic employment and human rights law and is aimed at determining that the most qualified candidates gain the most privileged positions. In the marketplace this has very simple consequences. The marketplace conforms to the minimal or formal conception of equality of opportunity as long as jobs are not offered privately to groups and are publicised adequately
Bibliography: Arneson, Richard, "Equality of Opportunity", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2002 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2002/entries/equal-opportunity/>. Rawls, John, “A theory of Justice” (Harvard university press, 1971) Galston, William, “Justice and the human good” (University of Chicago press, 1980) Schaar, John, “Equality of opportunity and beyond,” in Pennock and Chapman, “Equality” (New York: Atherton, 1967) Walzer, Micheal, “Spheres of Justice: A defense of Pluralism and Equality” (New York: Basic Books, 1983) p.287 Nozick, Robert, “Life is Not a Race,” in “Anarchy: State and Utopia” (Basic Books, 1974) A. Swift, “Political Philosophy: A Beginners’ Guide for Students and Politicians, part 3, Equality”, pp. 91-132.