Political Ideologies: Liberalism - Which forms of equality do liberals support and which do they reject?

Here is an essay that I wrote in 2009 while studying liberalism

Robyn, UK

Which forms of equality do liberals support and which do they reject?

The liberal theory of justice is based on a belief of various kinds of equality. The liberal belief in individualism implies on commitment to foundational equality. All humans are born equal with each individual being of equal moral worth, an idea embodied in the notion of natural rights. Foundational equality implies a belief in formal equality and the idea that individuals should enjoy the same formal status in society, particularly in terms of the distribution of rights and entitlements. Liberals disapprove of any social privileges or advantages on the basis of race, gender etc.

The most important forms of formal equality are legal and political equality. Legal equality emphasizes ‘equality before the law’ and insists that all non-legal factors are irrelevant to the process of legal decision making. Political equality is embodied in the idea of ‘one person; one vote’ and underpins the liberal commitment to democracy.

Liberals subscribe to a belief in equality of opportunity as individuals should have the same chance to rise and fall in society. Liberals believe social equality to be undesirable because people are born the same but possess different talents and skills and some are prepared to work much harder than others. Equality means giving individuals an equal opportunity to develop unequal skills and abilities. This leads to a belief in meritocracy where inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills. A meritocratic society is believed to be socially just because individuals are judged by their talent and willingness to work rather than gender, race etc. Liberals believe social equality is unjust because it treats unlike individuals alike.