Equality

Abstract

Equality is a comparative notion: thus, for example, there is equality between two people in relation to a benefit or a burden when each receives the same benefit or shoulders the same burden. That it is a comparative notion is common to all accounts of equality. This essay considers the nature of equality when viewed as a substantive component of social distributive justice; outlines and reviews some suggested measurements of equality; outlines and critically discusses some frequently voiced criticisms of the pursuit of equality; and notes some ongoing controversies about the scope of equality among those who consider it central to issues of social distributive justice.