Egalitaria

Egalitarianism. What a fantastic sounding word for a fantastic idea. It really has a proper ring to it. When I create my own nation-state I'll call it Egalitaria, and its name will represent its core values.

Unfortunately, all things being equal, equality in any meaningful form does not exist - perhaps cannot exist. What does exist is a stratified humanity where peasants look up in awe at flinty-eyed nobility who, living in fear that they might lose their prized position in society, relentlessly shove any heads they can reach down below the turbulent waters of poverty.

But who wouldn't do the same?
It would be a person who truly believes in a cause other than the promotion of their own comfort and legacy, in flesh or otherwise. Probably at least a few of them exist.

If humanity acted more like a single eusocial organism in the manner of a hive of bees or a nest of mole rats, we would quickly adopt an egalitarian framework. This is not because concern for the humanist cause begets a more fair social structure (indeed bees have queens), but rather: a more productive one.

As it currently stands, visible differences in power between human communities breed bidirectional resentment, exacerbate existing us/them relationships, and prevent unity, stifling the potential of humanity[*]. I don't need to argue that working together lightens the load; imagine if all of humanity focused their efforts towards the same front. Such immense productive power could be used to discover scientific truths, to maximize human pleasure and freedom, or to fling life far outside of our planet and solar system in a valiant yet futile attempt to battle the dark cloud of entropy that slowly envelopes all.

Humanity's mark on the universe would be deepened by a global egalitarian society... and such a society only arrives by the assent of individuals.

Do I pick humanity? Or do I pick myself and my kin? Neither answer is necessarily wrong, and with enough rationalizations maybe I can believe I've picked both. It's a question worth reflecting about.



* I believe the idea that inequality dampens unity and cooperation is somewhat self explanatory, but if you're not convinced (or if you just want some better reading than you'll find on this blog), I will point you to R. Sapolsky's Behave, pg402-405.