2. Is equality per se desirable or valuable? If so, should the state seek to achieve equality, in what dimensions, and with what limits? Please answer with reference to ideas we have studied during the class.
Equality is not valuable on its own, it must be combined with other foundations in order to have a desirable system of justice. The state should seek equality, but not solely equality for its own sake. An equitable system constructed to the exclusion of any other consideration of what makes a life worth living will breed equitable misery.
One such system is the one that would come from the original position if the principle of total utility were chosen, along with only the consideration of equality. The world would be structured such that the sum of happiness/utility is the highest. However, this conception has a significant flaw. If there were a world full of only people who are all live and die suffering, as long as each had equal pain, and all had utils greater than zero, then this world would be considered just. The introduction of new individuals into this world who would certainly face a life of pain would be encouraged by this system. Here, equality does nothing to promote a life worth living. It’s not good enough, not sufficiently just, to say that they are all equal.
