The Equitable Person
Throughout the preceding sections, we have discussed something called an equitable person, and we have described various aspects of the person without indicating much about what an equitable person actually is besides identifying potential behaviors. We remedy that here, as it informs us of the nature and quality of relationships such a person might hold.
An equitable person is a person who exemplifies the principle of equality, as it is the first and overarching principle for their decisions.
Such a person acts on their beliefs, as the equitable person must behave in a manner that is consistent with the principle of equality. Otherwise, we cannot say that such a person truly “values” the concept. Having said this, it is vitally important that the reader understand that we should not expect or hope for a uniform society. One person who values equality is not the same as another. The Principle of Equality does not suggest a loss of identity sufficient to render individuals indistinguishable from one another. Therefore, even among those who value equality, there must be love, hate, friendship, and loathing — conflict must be a natural consequence of being alive.
The equitable person, however, will necessarily treat their partner, friends, and acquaintances with deference and care, as this is a fundamental part of the principle of equality. Such a person must recognize that perspectives between two individuals may differ but are no less valid because of their differences. Such a person will work hard to ensure that as much as their own voice is being heard, so should the voice of the person with whom they have entered an agreement for a life partnership. The equitable person would remain faithful as long as a relationship can be maintained and courteous but firm when one cannot be.
The principle of equality requires consideration of the other, so someone who truly appreciates equality will necessarily put the other individual’s desires on par with their own. The concept of equitable ownership would drive such a person to ensure that whatever decisions were made in a home setting accounted for not only their own goals but the goals of their partner and family or friends. This is because time is also an item of property and must be equally shared or proportioned in a way to benefit the pair best, which must also benefit the larger society best.
An equitable society should have nothing to say about interpersonal relationships, save that all individuals can enter into such relationships with other individuals at their leisure. Relationships are not a form of possession past the time commitment mentioned above, and therefore, members of relationships do not need to be shared in the same way as possessions. Relationships are often agreements between individuals to pursue a common interest, such as raising children and bringing up the next generation or simply existing together.
This question must be asked of equality: what right do individuals have to exclusive relationships in an equitable society? An equitable society gains and sacrifices nothing regarding equality if it allows members to maintain such relationships. Children and the next generation are difficult and require work to look after. Children are also members of society and thus impact shared resources. The equitable person would be cognizant of the impact upon shared resources that children will have and, therefore, would limit their own reproduction in the interest of equality. This would ideally promote replacement-level fertility, which is the level wherein each woman produces enough female children to replace themselves upon death. It is important to realize that the equitable person would accept rational limits to overpopulation. In contrast, the non-equitable person may refute such controls in an implicit or explicit effort to out-breed other societal members. It is, therefore, vital for the equitable society to maintain a majority of equitable members and, if possible, by cultural influence and education to address overpopulation and many other issues which arise and require collective cooperation.
This essay is part of a series. Search on the tag “equitable society” for related essays. The evolution of society should always be pushing forward, always toward the most equitable solution for us all. There is a way forward that doesn’t involve violence, but it may involve a reimagining of the world we must create together.
