Equality

Sometimes, when I read strict Conservatives (the type of people who are actually being honest with their beliefs, instead of simply regressing into debased punditry), I tend to notice gaps in the underlying ideology. They often talk of personal responsibility and accountability, as well as equality under the law: In the state of nature...all men are born equal, but they cannot continue in this equality. Society makes them lose it, and they recover it only by the protection of the law. - Charles de Montesquieu The quote acknowledges that equality among men does not continue past birth, yet then implies that the protection of the law keeps men equal. I have tried to explain that the fact that the laws apply to all people equally does not ensure that all people are equal. I say that there is a difference between the right to do something and the ability to do it. I usually get a quizzical stare at this point, and the conversation breaks down as I am defamed as a "damn liberal", or other such foolishness. In reading today, I came across a quote by Anatole France, which I love because it makes the point in such a succinct manner: The poor have to labour in the face of the majestic equality of the law, which forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread. - Anatole France, The Red Lily, 1894, chapter 7 The meaning here is that, while the law forbids all people to do certain things (like steal bread), it only applies to the poor - since the rich have no need to steal bread. Or, to paraphrase - "let them eat cake."