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THE LIMITS OF EQUALITY

	This article discusses how much equality among people society
can and should strive for.  The issue is a live one in America today,
because  more  and  more  people  believe  that  formal  equality  of
opportunity  will not  guarantee equality  of  result, and equality
of result is essential for justice.   Each of  the
following views has its supporters:

	1.  Equality of opportunity  is as far as  society should go.
Inequalities of result are inevitable and should be accepted. 

	2.  If  there   were  true  equality  of   opportunity,  then
substantial  equality  of  result  would  necessarily  follow.    Any
inequality of result  is evidence  of inequality  of opportunity  and
reason for compensatory measures. 

	3.  If equality  of opportunity  is  insufficient to  assure
equality of  result, then society should do  whatever more is required to
assure equality of  result.  A  major advocate of  this view is  John
Rawls, "Theory of Justice" which allows only inequalities that benefit the
worst off members of society.  Christopher Jencks is another advocate
of equality of result.

SOME REMARKS

	1.  When comparisons of  equality are made, a  lot depends on
what groups are averaged over.  For example, Rawls never mentions the
sick and dying as a group, although this group is probably the worst off.
A group or its advocates can make its case by judicious "gerrymandering"
of the group boundaries.

	2. Unless  the East  German view  that the  Berlin Wall is  a
symbol of democracy  is accepted, then anyone who thinks that society
does not reward him in accordance with his deserts should be  able to
emigrate to  a society he  thinks will treat  him better.   A society
that  attracts talent by paying  it well may be  able to outproduce a
more equalitarian society to the extent that even  the untalented are
attracted  even  though they  have  a low  relative  position in  the
unequalitarian society.  That this is a real possibility is shown  by
the fact that all communist ruled societies have emigration control. 

	3. Rawls's  theory of "justice  as fairness"  is based on  the
idea  of a social  contract that  participants in society  would sign
before they  knew whether  they would  be born  wealthy  or poor  and
before they knew how much talent they  would have.  He arrives at his
doctrine  of  making the  least well  off in  society  as well  of as
possible by  a  hocus-pocus  which argues  that  one would  choose  a
maximin  rather  than  a Bayesian  strategy.    In  my opinion,  this
doctrine of  anticipating the  worst does  not correspond  to  actual
human preferences.