Darrow Miller and Friends

Is Social Justice About Equality or Equity?

 

 

 

The following post, first published in Feb 2012, is our all-time #2 most popular. The level of reader interest encouraged us to continue to write on the subject of social justice. The culmination of that process is the publication of Darrow’s latest book, Rethinking Social Justice: Restoring Biblical Compassion, just released this month RethinkingCoverFront(May 2015).

Read the post to see what the fuss is all about … you’ll probably want to order the book. 

 

Is Social Justice About Equality or Equity?

Is equality the proper objective in a free society? The goal of some in the social justice discussion is for people to be equal. What does this mean and what does it entail?

equality the goal of social justice?The U.S. Declaration of Independence sets the high-water mark for any civilization: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

First, note that we are equal, not because we are the same, but because we are created by God. Young or old, male or female, black or white, rich or poor, healthy or infirm, to be human is to be made in the image of God. This fact establishes that before God and our fellowman, each person has dignity and honor and is due respect from their neighbors and society. Being made in the image of God, each person has certain rights granted by God, unalienable rights – they cannot be conferred nor taken away by the state or any human being or institution. These rights include the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (and happiness is found when we live within the framework of the laws of liberty, established at the creation of the world).

But, aside from equality in dignity and worth, human beings are not born the same. The law of individuality makes it clear that every human is unique – one of a kind. In billions of snowflakes, no two are alike. So also, no two human beings are alike. Even identical twins are not truly identical.

Some people were made to play basketball. I can hardly dribble. Some have been born to sing opera; I only sing in the shower. We are tall and short, male and female, brown and black, gifted in languages, math, science, music and the arts, sports and oratory. From a myriad of possibilities, each person is made one of a kind. God loves diversity.

Human beings are equal and diverse at the same time. Human beings, like the Godhead, have unity without uniformity and diversity without superiority.

Equality and equity are very different.

Equity assumes the diverse, unique individuality of each person. While people are different, they are to be treated equally before the law; they are treated fairly. The uniqueness or diversity of people is a cause for celebration, not discrimination. Equity means equal rights and responsibilities and equality before the law, for all citizens. This is a product of freedom.  The goal is equity among diverse peoples.

Equality, in contrast, assumes sameness, uniformity, interchangeability. Some advocate for an equal starting place – a level playing field for every citizen;  others argue for equal outcomes – everyone has the same in the end. The uniqueness of individuals is often despised. The goal of equality is to make diverse people all the same.

It’s easy to see the absurdity of this philosophy. Equality means I should be put on the starting lineup of the Los Angeles Lakers. And, at the end of the season, my team should have the same win-loss record as all the other teams in the league.

Equality, pushed to its natural conclusion, would divide an insulin dose equally between a healthy child and the diabetic child. Equity, on the other hand, gives the diabetic child all the insulin.

Social justice seeks equity, not equality

Because people are born unique, there will always be diverse starting places and outcomes. The only alternative is tyranny, as C.S. Lewis imagines a demon’s instruction in Screwtape Proposes a Toast:

The moral is plain.  Allow no preeminence among your subjects. Let no man live who is wiser or better or more famous or even handsomer than the mass. Cut them all down to a level: all slaves, all ciphers, and all nobodies. All equals.

This was the outcome of the Communist experiment in the Soviet Union and China and the direction of all utopian experiments. People dressed the same, acted the same, and thought the same under penalty of death for any deviation.

Equity seeks fairness for diverse people, equality seeks numerically equal outcomes for different people. Equality, in the sense of similar outcomes, contradicts the basic concept of individuality and human uniqueness. All humans equal before the law leads to freedom, while material equality of outcome promotes tyranny.

Social justice as God intended seeks equity, not equality, for her citizens.

–          Darrow Miller


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About 
Darrow is co-founder of the Disciple Nations Alliance and a featured author and teacher. For over 30 years, Darrow has been a popular conference speaker on topics that include Christianity and culture, apologetics, worldview, poverty, and the dignity of women. From 1981 to 2007 Darrow served with Food for the Hungry International (now FH association), and from 1994 as Vice President. Before joining FH, Darrow spent three years on staff at L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland where he was discipled by Francis Schaeffer. He also served as a student pastor at Northern Arizona University and two years as a pastor of Sherman Street Fellowship in urban Denver, CO. In addition to earning his Master’s degree in Adult Education from Arizona State University, Darrow pursued graduate studies in philosophy, theology, Christian apologetics, biblical studies, and missions in the United States, Israel, and Switzerland. Darrow has authored numerous studies, articles, Bible studies and books, including Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform Culture (YWAM Publishing, 1998), Nurturing the Nations: Reclaiming the Dignity of Women for Building Healthy Cultures (InterVarsity Press, 2008), LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day (YWAM, 2009), Rethinking Social Justice: Restoring Biblical Compassion (YWAM, 2015), and more. These resources along with links to free e-books, podcasts, online training programs and more can be found at Disciple Nations Alliance (https://disciplenations.org).

8 Comments

  1. mcmeeshi

    February 2, 2012 - 1:50 pm

    In a broken world, does the lack of a level playing field (Equality) ever hinder an individual’s ability to their rights (Equity)?

    • disciplenations

      February 6, 2012 - 10:32 am

      Hello mcmeeshi,

      It is good to be engaging with you. Thanks for your comments on our blogs.

      In response to your question of the “level playing field,” the wonder of creation is that it is a universe of diversity. Before the fall, the universe was filled with uniqueness, individuality, and diversity. In the deformation of the fallen world there is even more diversity. People are born in diverse countries, climates, geographies. Each person is a one of a kind. Because of this, the concept of equality–a level playing field as defined as sameness, identical beginnings, and interchangeability—is both impossible and undesirable.

      On the other hand, a biblical concept of a level playing field is equality before the law. This “field” is founded in the character of God – “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribes” (Deuteronomy 10:17) and in the moral law of the universe. When nations establish the rule of law (in contrast to the rule of man), they create the most just societies and a level playing field where people can bring their dreams, unique gifts, talents, and abilities to contribute to the good of the larger society and the growth of the kingdom of God as well as to reach their God-given potential.

      – Darrow Miller

  2. Robert Reinhold

    October 11, 2013 - 7:35 am

    So equality would be all people of different background would have equal opportunity at a job, with hiring based on merit solely. Equity would be giving the job to a person less qualified simply because the had a less “privileged” background?

    • Darrow

      October 17, 2013 - 4:50 am

      Hello Robert

      Thanks for your comment. The two concepts, “equality” and “equity,” are very different.

      Equity simply means that people are equal before the law. People are not discriminated against by race, creed, tribe, sex, age, etc. People come with diverse backgrounds and abilities, but the law shows no partiality and lady justice is blindfolded.

      The people who believe in Justice as “equality” have a goal that outcomes are equal; everyone has the same in the end. To achieve equal outcomes, when people are unique individuals, requires raw power to force people into the same mold. The classical model of this was Mao’s China. Everyone dressed the same, had the same hair styles, read the same book – Mao’s Red Book, and thought the same. People who did not conform were re-educated or killed (10,000,0000). In China, equality of out come was achieved, except for the Party leaders who lived at a higher level than anyone else.

      Darrow

      • Judy Kamisky

        February 20, 2014 - 7:40 pm

        Your writing of your thoughts on social justice truly clarify what I believe and I thank you for stating it in a manner that is exactly my thinking and said so much better than I could.

        • admin

          February 21, 2014 - 3:41 pm

          Judy,

          Darrow is away from any internet access for a couple of weeks (on assignment in a limited-access nation) but I’m happy to respond on his behalf with a word of thanks for reading and responding. We are always happy to hear that someone has benefited in some way from our material.

          Gary Brumbelow

  3. Bidhansubba

    November 28, 2016 - 7:15 am

    Yes very true equity is means and equality is end. Which can be achieved only in welfare state neither in capitalist or socialist state.because socialist forces everyone to be equal and capitalist thinks and treats everyone to be equal.

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