People Barely Care About Equality

Another simple proof.

Almost everyone claims to deeply care about equality. Many leftist thinkers barely talk about anything but equality. The rest of the political spectrum is less monomaniacal, but almost everyone talks about inequality as a grave social ill: “I don’t want to live in society where some people have so much more than others.”

A few right-leaning thinkers distinguish between evil “poverty” and morally neutral “inequality.” But even they rarely add: “99% of the ‘poor’ in my country are rich by world and historic standards, so the problem of poverty has basically been solved.” Instead, no matter how absolutely rich “their poor” get, the fretting continues unabated. Which suggests, again, that people care about equality even when they explicitly deny it.

With all this verbiage on its side, how can anyone doubt that humanity’s yearning for equality is genuine? Simple: Remember the adage that, “Actions speak louder than words,” and notice that anyone who yearns to live in a highly egalitarian society can unilaterally do so.

How?

If you yearn for equality in your immediate neighborhood, move to a highly equal neighborhood. (Indeed, you could even try to join a fully egalitarian commune).

If you yearn for equality in your state, move to a highly equal state.

If you yearn for equality in your country, move to a highly equal country.

Last step: Notice that virtually zero people actually relocate based on inequality. People routinely relocate for higher income, cheaper housing, lower crime, and closeness to family. But have you ever heard anyone — even the most fanatical leftist — claim to be “moving for equality”? Indeed, how many fanatical leftists are even aware that the most equal states in the USA are Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Alaska?

Upshot: Since almost everyone possesses a simple way to live in a more equal society, yet almost no one takes advantage of it, we can safely conclude that people barely care about equality.

Granted, this is not as bullet-proof as my argument that people barely care about relative income. “People care about their relative income” is an unambiguously selfish story: “I enjoy being richer than other people in my vicinity.” The best way to interpret “People care about equality” isn’t quite as clear-cut.

In principle, you could maintain, “Equal societies are better, but the equality of my society doesn’t personally affect me.” If so, there’s no point moving to a more equal neighborhood, state, or country. But on reflection, this is an rare position. A key component of the normal egalitarian view is: “I want to live in an egalitarian society, because egalitarian societies are better places to live.”

As long as you embrace this normal egalitarian view, the good news is that you don’t have to wait for egalitarian philosophy to triumph. You can and should take matters into your own hands by finding a much more equal place to live — and moving there.

The bad news: Once you take this good news to heart, you’re probably going to learn something ugly about yourself. Namely: Your commitment to equality is largely lip service. No matter how many high-minded words you’ve spoken about this allegedly noble ideal, you don’t care enough about equality to pack your bags and hit the road.

This realization is especially ugly if you have relocated to, say, get a 15% raise. Rhetorically, equality seems much more important than a little extra income. Yet for the vast majority of self-identified fans of equality, the opposite is true.

And the bad news gets worse: The issue isn’t merely that you are personally on the hypocritical side. Since virtually everyone is capable of relocating for equality, yet almost no one does so, every self-styled egalitarian movement is living a lie. The greater the movement’s proclaimed commitment to equality, the greater the lie.