ABSTRACT
Egalitarians persist in speaking of human equality, as a principle significant for action, in the face of all the evident human inequalities of stature, physique, intellect, virtue, merit, and desert. This chapter argues that in many contexts the claim to human equality is no more than a negative egalitarianism, a denial, a limited criticism of some specific existing arrangements. It formulates a principle that can be properly expressed in the formula "all men are equal". The chapter also maintains that the principle of equal consideration of human interests is required by current conceptions of social justice. It can be effective in public policy-making, however, only to the extent that agreement can be reached on the proper order of priority of human interests. When egalitarianism is translated into concrete political programs, it usually amounts to a proposal to abandon existing inequalities, rather than to adopt some positive principle of social justice.
