Left and Right by Bobbio Norberto;

Author:Bobbio, Norberto;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Polity Press
Published: 2016-03-07T05:10:08+00:00

6

Equality and Inequality

1 On the basis of my reflections so far, which, if nothing else, are, I believe, pertinent to our times, and a scrutiny of the papers over the last few years, I believe that the criterion most frequently used to distinguish between the left and the right is the attitude of real people in society to the ideal of equality. Together with liberty and peace, equality is one of the ultimate goals which people are willing to fight for.1 My analytical approach to this argument completely precludes any value-judgement on the relative merits of equality and inequality, because such abstract concepts can be, and are, interpreted in very different ways, and their relative merits depend on these interpretations. The concept of equality is relative, not absolute. It is relative to at least three variables which have to be taken into account every time the desirability of equality or its practicability are discussed: (a) the individuals between whom benefits and obligations should be shared; (b) the benefits or obligations to be shared; (c) the criteria by which they should be shared.

In other words, once the principle of equality has been accepted, no proposal for redistribution can fail to respond to the following three questions: Between whom?, Of what?, On the basis of which criteria?2

As can be easily imagined, an enormous number of egalitarian permutations can be obtained by combining these three variables. The subjects can be everyone, many, few or even just one. The criteria can be merit, need, rank, work and many others, including the absence of any criterion at all, which characterizes the maximalist egalitarian principle, which I would call egalitarianist: ‘To everyone the same amount’.3

None of these criteria are exclusive: there are situations in which two can be considered together. However, one cannot escape the fact that there are also situations in which one must be applied to the exclusion of the other. In families, the prevailing criterion for the distribution of resources is need, rather than merit; but merit is not excluded, and nor in authoritarian families is rank. According to Marx, the final stage of communism should be governed by the principle ‘To each according to his needs’, on the basis of the belief that it is in their needs that human beings are most naturally equal. In school, whose purpose is to be selective, the criterion of merit is exclusive, as it is in entrance exams for the civil service or private organizations. In public limited companies, dividends are distributed on the basis of the number of shares held by each shareholder, just as in politics, seats in parliament are assigned according to the number of votes obtained by each of the political forces, although the calculations vary according to the electoral laws. The criterion of rank is used in allocating places in a ceremony or an official dinner. Occasionally, the criterion of age prevails over that of rank, or is adopted where the candidates are of equal merit. The maxim ‘To each

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