ABSTRACT
But before this, it is necessary to say a little about the meaning of ‘equality’, ‘integration’ and ‘non-discrimination’ so I shall give the present section to this.
1.B. Equality. By ‘equality’ I am referring to a distributive notion, not to the wider notion of a reference group (I.3.C.). Statements that human beings (or some group of them) are ‘fundamentally’ or ‘spiritually’ equal, if they are not intended as purely theological propositions, usually seem to amount to claiming that human beings (or a certain group of them) should form a single reference group; in other words that some principle or other must be invoked if people are to be treated differently.1 If you like, you can say that ‘fundamental equality underlies equality in other senses (meaning that you have to establish a reference-group before you can say that relations among its members are, or should be, equal) but of course it is then equally true to say that ‘fundamental’ equality underlies justice or the greatest happiness of the greatest number. There is no special connection between ‘fundamental equality’ (i.e. the establishment of a reference-group) and equality as a distinctive want-regarding concept.
