ABSTRACT
In this chapter we suggest that everyone should be treated equally (men, women and inter-sex persons), unless those characteristics that constitute their difference are such that this becomes impossible or unfeasible. The default position is always one of equality of esteem and treatment. Moral equality is a rights-based notion of justice and consists of treating everyone, especially men and women, equally. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity because they are human. This is a conception of justice which is substantive, universal, and morally equivalent. In Immanuel Kant’s moral philosophy, the categorical imperative is underpinned by an equality notion of universal human worth. However, recognising that all human beings are equal does not logically and categorically lead us to the view that we should treat all persons equally. This is principally a normative ethic of equality, and it has universal elements and consequences.
