Divided we stand

“All are equal but some are more equal than the others” said George Orwell in “Animal Farm”. The statement most accurately depicts the tussle between egalitarianism and social divisions. Governments and intellectuals eulogize the romantic concept of egalitarianism but, reality remains starkly different. The Preamble of the Constitution of India declares her as a “socialist, secular Republic”. It also includes the Fundamental Right against Discrimination. Yet, in modern India, caste and religious differences are seen in prominence as never before. The flames are fuelled by political motives. The USA granted equal rights to blacks but, only years later were they able to hail the first black President. Worldwide, such differences have perpetuated, generation after generation yet intellectualism still strives and upholds egalitarianism.

Classlessness is a fundamentally right concept. Each human being is equal in the eyes of God and in the eyes of law. Equal rights should be enjoyed by John Doe and the billionaire capitalist. A few societies do realize this state. Like the nomads, some Chinese tribes and certain North Australian communities. In a Chinese tribe, which survives on hunting, the one who makes the kill is teased in proportion to the size of the beast to deflate his ego. In North Australia, each person is bound by custom to share anything that his neighbour needs. Everybody’s needs are hence taken care of. The nomads own nothing but the bare minimum and hence do not fight over what belongs to whom. These egalitarian societies have been built upon the principles of kinship and collective ownership of resources.

Individualism, privatization and the notion of ownership of resources– ubiquitous concepts in modern world, all but destroy the possibility of egalitarianism. The countries who gave equal share of wealth to everyone, saw their economies in tatters until they allowed some form of capitalism. Anti-egalitarians also argue that nature creates genetic differences. It makes some men more able than the others then why should their progress be stymied in the name of equality for all. Society being divided into strata is so strongly a part of every society that it must be essential for a stable society. It thus stands empirically correct even though morally, egalitarianism stands higher.