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Egalitarianism

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Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics

Abstract

The ideal of equality holds obvious fascination for human beings in an obviously complex and unjust world. The goal of egalitarianism is to achieve in theory and policy a specific framework of sociopolitical arrangement that will bring about the elimination of socioeconomic inequalities. The foundation of such a goal is the ideal of an equal moral worth that demands that humans be treated equally except that there is an overriding justification for allowing inequalities. This entry will address two specific objectives. The first will be to clarify the concept of egalitarianism and the ideal of equality that it champions. This is critical because egalitarianism presents a bewildering array of terms, concepts, arguments, and assumptions that are not always obvious to anyone interested in understanding the theory. The second objective of the entry is to sketch the implication of the egalitarian argument for an ethical consideration of human well-being and improved quality of life for human beings. Egalitarianism is significant because it provides the moral framework that links the personal and the political spheres in a manner that invigorates policies on healthcare, education, employment opportunities, and so on.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

    Adeshina Afolayan

Authors
  1. Adeshina Afolayan
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Correspondence to Adeshina Afolayan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Duquesne University Center for Healthcare Ethics, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Henk ten Have

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Afolayan, A. (2015). Egalitarianism. In: ten Have, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_166-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_166-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-05544-2

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