ABSTRACT
If equality meant everyone having the same abilities, the same rights, and the same obligations, no society could be a society of equals. For in every society, no matter how simple, there is diversity of functions; and every function calls for some abilities rather than others and carries its proper duties, and also its rights. The equal right to choose a congenial way of life, the equal right to a decent living, and the equal right to courtesy are usually justified by reference to certain capacities and needs peculiar to man. It distinguishes between different kinds of equality, to consider how far, in industrial societies, they are compatible with one another and with the enlargement of freedom and fraternity. Though differences of right—and also of ability, to the extent that ability depends on training and not just on natural gifts-are more apt to be challenged than identities, nobody need speak up for them unless they are challenged.
