“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” The idea of equality lies at the very foundations of the American republic. Building our social lives, channeling our economic pursuits, and establishing our political institutions on the principles in our Declaration of Independence unleashed the entrepreneurial potential of our people to create prosperity for everyone. To the extent that other nations embraced the American concept of equality, they also harvested the sweet fruits of liberating the creative energies of billions of farmers, merchants, innovators, artists, and various business undertakers.
Where did Jefferson get the idea that all human beings are created equal? After all, he lived in a world split between aristocrats and commoners, masters and slaves. Like all the founders, the primary source that inspired his political philosophy was the Bible. The Old Testament book of Proverbs 22:2 says: “The rich and the poor have a common bond, The Lord is the maker of them all.” In his letter to the church in Galatia 3:28, the Apostle Paul affirms the Christian principle of equality: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Since we live at a time when the marketplace of ideas offers an almost infinite choice of definitions for so many words, it is worth discovering what America’s founders meant by “equality.” During a speech in 1857, Lincoln clarified that they: “did not mean to say all were equal in color, size, intellect, moral developments, or social capacity. They defined with tolerable distinctness, in what respects they did consider all men created equal — equal in “certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” We are all equal in the sight of God, with inherent dignity and value.
Your natural rights as a human being impose an obligation on your fellow men not to murder, enslave, or rob you of your property. Our moral equality requires that each of us gets equal treatment under the law. That is why we portray Justice as a blindfolded lady. Those who enforce the law must ignore all factors except the ones that directly relate to the case. This legal equality also includes equality of opportunity understood as removing political obstacles to individual success. Careers should be open to all qualified candidates, selection and promotion should be based on merit, not race or sex.
It is neither possible nor desirable to equalize opportunities beyond a certain point. Having good parents is often a major advantage for the child. Even if we take all children away from their families to bring them up in a communal manner as they did in Israel’s Kibbutzim after World War II, that will not eliminate the existing genetic differences — some will be born with mental and physical disabilities, others with rare and valued talents. Equalizing opportunities in the pursuit of what some call “equity” would require the implementation of tyrannical measures that hobble the most productive individuals and destroy liberty for all.
“A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither,” warned Milton Friedman. With equal rights as a self-evident truth, we need not obsess about the unequal outcomes. We differ in abilities and ambitions — income and wealth inequalities are fair and inevitable when the freedom of the individual to chase his dreams is secured. The freedom to pursue “our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs,” noted philosopher John Stuart Mill, is an engine of progress and a prerequisite of a virtuous life. Only a free person can reach his full potential and do what’s right when presented with an opportunity to do wrong.
The Christian ideal of “liberty for all” has been around for 2,000 years. Based on God’s Law in Exodus 21:16 that demands a death penalty for the act of kidnapping and selling people, this ideal led to the abolition of slavery in the western world. Nevertheless, until the rise of capitalism in the 19th century, most men lived in servitude under social expectations or legal imperatives to sacrifice themselves for king and country. Real liberty came with free enterprise during the past two centuries, but the way for it was paved with ideas grounded in biblical truth that coalesced into the philosophy of classical liberalism.
Liberty means nothing for a castaway like Robinson Crusoe. When we live among other people, it becomes the highest political good, noted John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton (the great historian known as Lord Acton). Economist Murray Rothbard extolls the freedom of the individual as a “necessary condition for the flowering of all the other goods that mankind cherishes: moral virtue, civilization, the arts and sciences, economic prosperity.”
Because liberty produces the “glories of civilized life,” we need an effective mechanism to secure its blessings “to ourselves and our posterity.” As French economist Claude-Frédéric Bastiat explains: “it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.”
We are in a state of liberty when we are free from arbitrary political restrictions on expressing our views; raising our children in accordance with our personal values; and entering voluntary contractual relationships at mutually agreeable terms. True liberty can only exist in capitalist societies where the entrepreneur can make billions in profits from serving his customers, while the socialist can put his money where his mouth is and divest himself of all personal property to live a communal life. The only purpose of government is to be used for the protection of both in choosing their lifestyles based on their preferences.
Personal success and humanity’s progress depend on recognizing and protecting equality of rights and liberty to do what’s right. Exercising our free will in peaceful collaboration with others, driven by our diverse desires and goals, assisted (or hamstrung) by our aptitudes and attitudes, people must inevitably achieve very different degrees of success. As a professor, I will never be as famous as Elvis Presley or as wealthy as Elon Musk. And that’s OK with me. Abusing the government as a weapon in an attempt to achieve equality of outcome by taking what belongs to others will be the death of liberty.
About this piece
Dr. Alexander Tokarev is an Associate Economics and Philosophy Professor at Northwood University. He authored this piece for the October 2024 edition of When Free to Choose, Northwood’s signature publication promoting free enterprise. Click here to receive When Free to Choose in your inbox! Readers can email Dr. Tokarev at .
