The liberal ideal is that everyone should have fair access and fair opportunity. This is not equality of result. It’s equality of opportunity. There’s a fundamental difference.
Robert Reich
Must Equality Be Achieved By The Axe?
The Trees
There is unrest in the forest
Rush
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas
The trouble with the maples
(And they’re quite convinced they’re right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can’t help their feelings
If they like the way they’re made
And they wonder why the maples
Can’t be happy in their shade
There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream ‘Oppression!’
And the oaks just shake their heads
So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
‘The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light’
Now there’s no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe and saw
While listening to these words by the Canadian band “Rush”, I couldn’t help but feel that this was a metaphor for a bigger and more current subject, Equality!
Equality, should it be opportunity or outcome? Please Click To TweetMusicians and artist, even court jesters, have always had the ability to shine a spotlight on difficult subjects. And in this case, I think Rush’s allegory can be applied as a warning to those politicians who are thinking of using the axe to correct real or perceived inequality.
If you are an oak, there is a lot to like about the way you are made, and it is fair to ask how cutting you down helps anyone. But the maple has a real grievance. It did not choose to be born in the shade, and being denied light it never had a fair shot at is not the same as envy. The song offers only two endings: leave the maple in the dark, or take an axe to the oak. There is a third the lyrics never reach. You can give the maple more light. Widen the clearing, open the canopy, let new trees take root where the sun already falls. That is equality of opportunity, and it grows the forest instead of shrinking it. The axe is what you reach for only when you have stopped believing the forest can grow.
We live in interesting times. Around the world, there is a debate taking place about creating a more level playing field. But what does that mean, and what is the best way to accomplish this goal? Equality, should it be about opportunity or outcome? What do you think?
Equality or Equity? What does that mean, and what is the best way to accomplish that goal? Please Click To Tweet