: : My spectrum would be based on the question, : : "To what extent do you agree that freedom and equality are the natural state of man? homo liber aequalis or homo servus inaequalis."
: Freedom yes, equality no.
How do you justify this on the broad scale, Gee?
If you believe in freedom without equality, do you believe that those with more ability in certain spheres should have the freedom to dominate and control others of lesser stature?
Do you really think that might makes right?
Quite simply, freedom isn't universally applicable unless there is a complete equality of freedom for all.
You cannot have one without the other; equality without freedom is effective imprisonment; and freedom without equality is barbarism; the right of the strong to exploit and bully the weak.
: : What differentiates them is that Barry believes in equality while Gee, for example,doesn't. So therefore....
: No I dont. Last time I looked some people were more able than others, some were taller, had nicer hair etc etc etc. So how can I 'believe' in equality?
You're oversimplifying, Gee.
Person A is more intelligent than Person B; does this mean that A has less right to existence or freedom?
It's the difference between emergent superiority and inherent equality.
We are all Mk.I Human Beings.
'Superiority' in terms of brains, brawn or bullshit is an entirely subjective perception. Possession of these qualities doesn't necessarily make a person more worthy of life than someone else.
In fact, this is the defining point of human civilisation; that people in a social are not discriminated against because of their inability in one or more fields. We don't leave the sick or the old to die any more; in the eyes of society, an 85-year-old has as much right to life as a 25-year-old.
We do not kill people who do not conform to our ideas of 'racial purity'; because all humans are fundamentally equal, regardless of their skin or their ancestors.
That's what 'equality' means in this context, as you should already know.
(Of course, to achieve true 'civilisation', we (as a species) need to stop persecuting people on other inherited inequalities; wealth, power and political viewpoint.)
Farinata.
