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66 | What's Left of Equality? Between Opportunity and Flourishing (Patreon)

Published:
2023-05-30 22:01:00
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2026-06
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Content

In this episode, we unpack tensions between theories of equality that emphasize opportunity and outcomes in a discussion based upon Christine Sypnowich’s recent Boston Review article, “Is Equal Opportunity Enough?” We also discuss our very own William Paris’s response to Sypnowich in his essay “The Art of Equality.” We debate whether liberalism is tied to capitalist institutions, what it means to lead a flourishing life, and why French social clubs may contain part of the answer. We end with a stirring defense of equality as the best concept for social transformation.

leftofphilosophy.com | @leftofphil

References:

Christine Sypnowich, “Is Equal Opportunity Enough?” https://www.bostonreview.net/forum/is-equal-opportunity-enough/

William Paris, “The Art of Equality” https://www.bostonreview.net/forum_response/the-art-of-equality/

Music: Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com

Comments

John Shaeffer

Isn't equality of opportunity the best definition of capitalism. Count me out.

ben campbell

Go Lillian! The equity - equality nonsense has been really effective at shifting the goalposts - its now just assumed by everyone that aiming for equality is historical and obsolete . We have this wonderful new thing called equity, and its identical to 'equality of opportunity' and once you've been given it, if you are too stupid to become a tech startup unicorn then its because you just don't have enough 'merit' !

Jeremy Suman

Best example of equality of opportunity: Russian Roulette.

Ockitaris

I believe the privet ownership of land creates this inequality. It drives the people off the land. Way back farm machinery were invented mostly to take the place of men working on the farms. Farm workers have to be paid by the owner of the land. The rural people did not want to move to the city at that time. Looking at the material conditions from then to now how this creation of inequality (land ownership) has resulted in the social disaster we have now.

Paul Bowman

I think the reason for the disconnect of the conventional normative political philosophy from politics (or anything, really) is the bourgeois horizon that limits the possibilities for social change to optimising state social policies (hence consequentialism, which is the framework for social policy-optimization, par excellence). Without starting from the base of a power vs counterpower political ontology, all normative "political theory" musings degenerate to this scholastic onanism. The way to cut through the crap is to demand people explain what they understand by power and counterpower, before going any further.

Lto theB

Great episode! I was wondering if there was any further reading to be done on what Lilian was talking about--namely, how liberal capitalism facilitates value pluralism?