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EQUALITY

2436. Societies do not thrive on indolence --or infinite egalitarian tolerance; competition is bred in the bone, and only competence will answer nature's obdurate imperative: adapt or die.

2434. Western civilization seems determined to follow the path of mindless optimism directly into the terminal abyss of egalitarian gullibility.

2432. It is perverse to assume that equality is either attainable or desirable. A reduction in some inequalities may be beneficial, but mindless egalitarianism obscures the crucial difference between function and dysfunction, and, most importantly, between good and evil.

2431. Progressive attitudes and policies are attractive in theory, but destructive in implementation. They assume that justice lies in equality of outcome, but, in failing to account for the defining rôle of input, they mislead and subvert.

2426. Western civilization is currently toying with an excess -- an unsustainable egalitarianism. The danger is that it will be overcome by those more pragmatic who -- one way or another -- pay heed to competence and function. 

2425. The most workable mud hut thus far devised appears to be a society which allows for the freedom to pursue self-interest and efficiency in capitalism -- a capitalism modified to ameliorate -- but not extinguish -- the inequalities intrinsic to our genetic legacy. The balance is not fixed, but defined, roughly, by the destructiveness which comes from an excess in either direction.

2423. The fault line in society may be described as a conflict between self-interest, and the common good -- between the justice of function -- which recognizes hierarchy -- and the justice of being -- which favours equality.

2419. The religious notion of original sin is more accurate than the modern assumption of original goodness. Self-interest can be modified -- but not replaced by egalitarian theories, and demands for unwavering devotion to the state. It is the necessary and inextinguishable "sin" of all creatures.

2414. Egalitarianism sounds good -- but has chaos at its core -- because it discourages the necessary distinction between good and evil.

2411. The human condition is not, finally, fixable. That is because the dreams of an egalitarian nirvana can never be squared with the need for challenge, competition, and the invidious distinction between success and failure.

2410. More harm is done by trying to create an ideal social "crystal palace" than by accepting the mud hut limitations of human nature. That is why egalitarian socialism never works -- but hierarchical capitalism -- a mix of jungle-legacy  self-interest and necessary societal co-operation -- does.

2409. Ideal virtue -- the kind that is usually signalled -- assumes that compassionate egalitarianism will solve the problems of mankind. It won't -- because practical virtue necessarily involves the cruelty of competition, and the triumph of competence over ineptitude.

2408. Ironically, progressive policies -- which embody well-intentioned compassion, and seek to manufacture a sweet balm of equality from the competitive challenge of hierarchy-- are destructive. They run counter to the evolutionary imperative which demands competence and superior function.

2403. Death would appear to be a prerequisite for maximum equality.

2402. Equality requires stasis, but change is in the heartbeat -- in the pulse of life itself. Something close to equality might be found in death -- but even then, the ashes might proclaim a difference.

2401. Change is the kryptonite to equality.

2397. The aim of left wing propaganda is to gild the reality of hierarchy with a chimerical veneer of egalitarian nonsense.

2394. Egalitarian fantasies -- fabulous fillies with losing track records.

2392. Today's egalitarian virtue -- tomorrow's destructive folly.

2389. Egalitarian principles -- the fantasies of progressivism.

2384. The cost of virtue-signalling in socialist health care schemes can be high. Mediocrity is the handmaiden of equality.

2383. The Canadian Health Care System does not merely follow the virtue-signalling principle of "no child (patient) left behind" -- it explicitly mandates the implicit negative corollary --  no patient can be allowed to forge ahead. Individual citizens are forbidden from using their own money to buy private insurance in pursuit of the best possible health outcomes. Thus -- except for the very rich who can afford to leave the country -- it enforces mediocrity, mandates the passable minimum.

2373. Wokeism is the new term for politically correct egalitarianism.

2371. Free speech has become a victim of rabid egalitarianism. A criticism of Islamic principles and practices is seen as hate speech; any reference to the negative effect of a cultural value is termed racist --and anyone who has the temerity to suggest that biological facts are not instantly obliterated by psychological perceptions of gender is deemed the spawn of Satan. In the name of equality, we are retreating from freedom and the rationality of science to a dank cesspool of primitive taboos.

2370. When "Equality" is God, any reference to hierarchy becomes heresy.

2366. Islam is as Islam does. Progressive egalitarianism refuses to recognize a moral hierarchy in cultural values -- thus a rational criticism of Islamic malevolence -- like the fatwa -- is neither welcomed nor approved. All criticism of Islam is seen as "Islamophobic" hate speech rather than as morally justified free speech. This represents an exchange of our birthright of freedom of speech for an oppressive mess of Islamic pottage - the idea that blasphemy is "illegal" -- with the concomitant notion that death is an appropriate punishment. The failure to criticize Islam for its authoritarian cruelty is moral apostasy.

2365. The automobile symbolizes the freedom, convenience, flexibility, and inequality of capitalism. The streetcar represents socialism --  it will take you "equally" and inexpensively to some locations at certain times determined by the government. What seems to work best is a preponderance of automobiles, and a necessary back-up alternative of streetcars. The "stellar" worlds of streetcar exclusivity invariably collapse into black holes of dysfunction and misery -- because human beings, unlike ants, prefer individual freedom to imposed equality.

2361. Egalitarians cannot avoid absurdity. The universe is innately hierarchical, and obdurately resistant to wishful thinking.

2351. The desire to eliminate the cruelties of economic disparity is entirely understandable. But to do so by limiting net worth is fraught with danger, for it would curtail freedom, impede human achievement, and crush the spirit of initiative and enterprise intrinsic to our species.

2350. Capitalism echoes the freedom implicit in the law of the jungle. It aligns the individual desire for freedom with much of the common good -- but it can never provide the degree of equality to which many aspire. Greater equality can only be achieved, safely, with an artificial distribution of wealth which does not destroy individual initiative. Socialism always fails because it overvalues equality and undervalues freedom.

2343. "No child left behind" --i.e.  abolish competence, merit, and competition in favour of an unearned equality of outcome.

2342. "No child left behind" an appeal for the mediocrity implicit in equality.

2341. "No child left behind" -- a sentimental appeal which defies logic. If no child is left behind -- then no child can forge ahead -- and mediocrity wins every race. 

2333. Diversity and inclusion policies are, in reality, an egalitarian hammer: they perceive awkward points of excellence as nails to be flattened in the creation of an  inclusively "equitable" level field -- a monotonous plain of mediocrity.

2332. In the past, great advances in science, technology, and medicine were made by mere individuals. Powerful novels, enduring poetry, and great music -- similarly -- lacked the exceptional benefits of progressive selective policies and committee oversight.  We can only imagine the untold miracles we could have witnessed if the advantages of diversity, inclusion, and equity had been recognized in those primitive, inegalitarian times.

2320. There is a comforting, hopeful assumption that failure implies virtue, and success is burdened with vice.  It ain't necessarily so.

2315. The proclamation that an idea must not be criticized is certain proof of insufficiency. No one suggests infallibility for Einstein's theory of relativity. But that psychological perception of gender causes biological differences to vanish like a morning mist in sunlight is held to be sacrosanct. Those who criticize -- or fear -- Islam -- a religion antithetical to western values -- are labelled as the Spawn of Beelzebub.

2314. Equality: Advertised as "Progressive Panacea." Fully absorbed --a mortally paralytic poison.

2313. Equality: "Multivitamin" on the bottle -- Ebola in the pill.

2312. The most dangerous ideals are religious, socialist, and egalitarian. The victims of religion and socialism are already incalculable. Egalitarianism is poised to destroy entire nations of the terminally gullible.

2307. Multiculturalism is an extraordinarily foolish notion based on the seductive falsehood of cultural equality.

2305. "DIE" policies signal virtue, but necessarily compromise competence and impair function. One day the fog of egalitarian fantasy will lift -- revealing that virtue signalling and actual virtue occupy different universes.

2304. Human and cultural variability -- the obdurate distinctions between success and failure -- these are the yawning chasms the magical carriage of egalitarianism must traverse. The current pumpkin wreckage is not unexpected.

2303. Some things work better than others. That is the great practical fly in the theoretical ointment of equality.

2302. The inevitable worm in the shiny apple of equality is the common sense distinction between success and failure. The polished apples of egalitarian policy --- whether mass migration or diversity delusion --  ultimately rot, and, pungently, decay. 

2301 Mass migration is based on the assumption that success and failure are inherently unfair -- hence equality is the goal of virtue. People -- intrinsically equal -- have a right to move from locations of failure to locations of success -- and everyone will live -- in egalitarian virtue -- happily ever after. It ain't necessarily so.

2295. It's extraordinary to reflect that my cat, Rico, is wiser than untold numbers of human beings. He has no religion, nor does he believe in equality.

2293. EGS -- Egalitarian Gullibility Syndrome -- is a virulent cultural pathogen which infects the minds of liberals and progressives everywhere.

2286. Choose equality, reap mediocrity.

2284. Discriminating against intelligence, competence, and diligence, will empower the stupid, the inept, and the dilatory. The nation or enterprise that chooses mediocrity will find no impediment to the self-destructive goal.

2280. The modern sensibility favours evil,  because the assumption of original goodness -- a corollary of egalitarianism -- deters the necessary cruelty of punishment.

2278. Immigration policies should focus on benefit to the host country. The aim should be virtuous results -- not the signalling of theoretical egalitarianism or multicultural compatibility.

2277. Socialism always veers towards dictatorship because it assumes -- falsely -- that "equality" is the proper and virtuous state of mankind. Trying to make unequal things equal requires exceptional oppression -- but the assumption of angelic purpose can justify any cruelty.

2275. Diversity programs attempt to manufacture equality of result, while ignoring the quality of input. The idea is superficially attractive -- but doomed by the irrational premise.

2273. Everyone knows that "equality" is a crock. Human, cultural, and intellectual variability are obdurate, obvious realities. But to say so is now considered apostasy -- that is -- hurtful to feelings -- the unpardonable sin. False "morality" begets  monumental stupidity.

2272. "Equality" is a false God. It is inimical to liberty -- and change -- the lifeblood of of existence; it is consistent only with mediocrity, stasis, and death. That is why the new idealism -- based on the assumption that only through "equity" can virtue be attained -- cannot avoid disaster.

2260. No society can adopt, wholly, the law of the jungle -- for it is incompatible with the co-operative advantages of civilization. But the egalitarian ideal of socialism is equally dangerous -- because it engenders stasis and dysfunction. Competition, excellence, and superior function are essential to survival. The most successful society will be that which -- in any given environment -- manages to achieve the best balance between competition and co-operation.

2251. Sound strategic diversity is seen in plywood -- where the focus is on function. Stupid diversity is seen in choosing people, not for function -- but to suggest an equality of groups, or to proclaim a self-congratulatory egalitarianism.

2247. When egalitarian virtue-signalling is the permanent north pole of your moral compass -- you will be unable to distinguish between good and evil. They have somewhat dissimilar locations.

2239. The belief that unequal things are equal is a suicidal distortion of reality. Pretending that the bridge functional is the same as the bridge collapsing can have crushing consequences.

2238. "Equity" is always manufactured by denying equality of opportunity and ignoring quality of input. In any practical sense, it is unfair.

2237. The attractiveness of "equality" is significantly outmatched by its dangerousness. As the enemy of liberty and of function -- it is a slow, corrosive, deadly -- poison.

2236. Those who uphold the virtue of "equity" intimidate with claim to moral superiority. That leads them to ignore functional failures, and to oppress heretics with conflagrations of pious bullshit.

2229. The  modern charade -- deceptive and dangerous -- is based on the axiom that feelings are sacrosanct. Logical corollaries are that unequal things must be presented as equal, and practical concerns --such as function, competence, and competitive advantage -- are deemed unnecessary, odious, and divisive.

2228. Those who say they want equality are lying -- they want improvement. The deception is strategic -- painting the lipstick of egalitarian virtue on the pig of grubby self-interest.

2227. Ignoring what works is the false haven for jerks.

2226. Choose the façade, discover the fraud.

2224. The existential threat to western civilization is the lure of façade over function. A bogus egalitarianism can never replace the need for competence.

2223. The most potent argument against diversity policies is their results.

2213.  Liberty and equality are matter and anti-matter; one must destroy the other.

2212.  "Equity" is a phoney virtue -- it can only be contrived by restrictions on liberty.

2211. Competitive sport can tell us much about equity. It is challenging, and exhilarating -- it evokes tribal enthusiasms, creates winners and losers. It is an echo of the law of the jungle -- safely constrained by the civility of the rulebook. Imagine, now, the "virtuous" vaccination of social equity --all scores become predictable ties. The fans dissipate; the players evaporate; the fields lie bare. All interest, enterprise and function vanish in a languid puff of evanescent futility.

2210. Human variability is the untidy fact; equality of result is the fanciful ideal.

2209. The pursuit of equity is a battle against competence.

2206. Equality is a gilded pillar --a base metal which, despite its sheen, deflects the moral compass.

2205. The belief in equality obliterates the useful distinction between good and evil.

2204. The great folly of many universities is to replace the search for truth with the intent to indoctrinate. The goal is a fanciful version of virtue -- an egalitarian renunciation of fact in favour of fiction.

2203. In chasing the bauble of "equity"-- equality of result -- while ignoring the quality of input -- Harvard has destroyed its reputation as an educational institution.

2202. You can proclaim the virtues of "equity" as much as you wish. It cannot be attained in a world of human variability; not should it be.

2197. Harvard -- having chosen its poison -- the pursuit of equality rather than excellence -- and though aware of the progressive paralysis --  is determined to drain the chalice.

2196. Those who ignore competence in order to manufacture the appearance of equality will reap the consequential reward: dysfunction and failure.

2194. Those hired on the basis of equity and inclusion can hardly be dismissed on the grounds of incompetence or unprofessionalism.

2193. The old values of competence, achievement, and honesty have been replaced by diversity, inclusion and equity. The choice is dangerous. "Equity" will not redeem a society incompetent, mediocre, and corrupt.

2192. By promoting unrealistic goals like "equity"-- virtue signalling is more destructive than constructive.

2186. "Diversity, inclusion, and equity" (DIE) is a virtue signalling mantra which cannot achieve virtue. Diversity for its own sake invites chaos -- and in practice is hostile to the concept of merit. If inclusion is the primary value, then competence is secondary. "Equity" represents a focus on the appearance of equality of result -- without any concern for the quality of input which would make it fair and reasonable.

2185. Any scheme of morality must be consistent with tribal survival. Aiming for equality of result is suicidal -- because it denies the reality of human variability; equality is static -- changeless -- consistent only with stasis and death.

2184. Laughter recognizes disparity and incongruity -- it is the civilized echo of the jungle cry of triumph. Political correctness claims to be the superman of morality -- yearning virtuously for equality. Laughter is its kryptonite.

2180. The more liberty, the less equality. Human beings are inherently unequal, and, given liberty -- will choose what is best.

2179. The paradox which many cannot grasp is that civilized "virtues" -- like the egalitarian impulse -- carried to extreme -- lead to dysfunction and disaster.

2177. In a world of equality, the moral compass cannot distinguish between good and evil.

2176. Hierarchy is the bedrock reality on which the bubbles of egalitarianism invariably burst.

2175. Equality is the enemy of liberty. That is why socialism invariably tends to dictatorship.

2174. People only choose equality if there is nothing better available.

2173. Liberty does not lead to equality. People chose what is best, not what is equal.

2168. When "diversion, inclusion, and equity" is the virtue-signalling mantra of choice, competence, merit, and excellence will be ignored. "Equality" is a scam: some things are better than others.

2165. Those who yearn for "equity" still hope their horse will be in the winner's circle.

2164. Hierarchy is the powerfully unpleasant truth; equality is the seductive lie. The ship of state won't run far on humbug.

2159. People seek "equality" because it sounds more just and fair than "personal advantage." Usually, the "justice" they seek involves an "unequal" reward  -- one quite unrelated to effort.         

2158.  The professed desire for "equality" is spurious and misleading: no one wants to be equal to those in a position less fortunate than one's own. The true motive is elevation and improvement. 

2157. People seek equality up, not down.

2145. "Equity" -- equality of outcome -- is only fair when there is equality of input.

2119. Many would like to repeal the law of the survival of the fittest -- it offends their egalitarian sense of morality. They would prefer the fit be hobbled, and the unfit be raised to a uniform level of incompetence. The flaw in their thinking is that an unfit, incompetent society -- by definition -- cannot survive. There is no morality at all for the benignly equal -- but undeniably dead.

2110. If it is wrong to exclude people because of their membership in a group; it is equally wrong to include them on the same basis. Favouritism -- affirmative action -- despite the claim of egalitarian intentions -- denies equality of opportunity; it is a cure indistinguishable from the disease. 

2109. Those who seek "equality" have decided to ignore excellence. They would be well advised to avoid any kind of competitive challenge.

2105. Seeing history through the lens of race makes the absurd assumption that skin colour determines how people think and act -- an argument which precludes the possibility of change. It is more reasonable to conclude that success and failure arise from a mix of geography, individual abilities, and -- crucially -- cultural context.  Unequal outcomes -- we have the temerity to suggest -- have less to do with skin colour than with unequal inputs. Nature's imperative is cruel: adapt or die.

2097. Western governments delight in signalling  "virtue" -- with immigration policies based on pan-cultural acceptance. But the refusal to recognize the fact of cultural incompatibilities leads to a great evil -- the perceived need to suppress the truth and limit the freedom of speech they once claimed to espouse.

2096. "Equity" is a functionally absurd goal. When the same results are expected from different inputs, the Mad Hatter is in charge of the asylum. 

2095. Diversity is not an end in itself -- but a means to  gain superior function. Diversity for its own sake is spelled "c h a o s."

2094. Diversity is useful in providing options; the best function arises from the superior option.

2093. The price of inclusivity is paid in the currency of competence.

2092. Inequality is like the pooping goose that lays the golden eggs. The farmer who values a tidy egalitarian barnyard above all, will discover that the price of execution is unacceptably high.

2091. Life is essentially and intrinsically cruel and unfair. Modifications are possible -- even necessary -- but compassionate egalitarians everywhere make the terrible mistake of thinking that cruelty and injustice are superficial and eradicable. They do not understand the word "intrinsic."

2088. Reducing inequality may be virtuous; trying to make unequal things equal is evil.

2087. The "virtuous" seek equality, not realizing it is a chokehold on the breath of life. "Equality" is a theoretical state which -- if it could be attained -- would be destroyed by the slightest change; it is consistent only with stasis and death.

2086.The notion that discriminatory policies are the certain cure for discrimination reveals the intellectual bankruptcy of the progressive left. Equality of result cannot, ethically, be purchased at the expense of equality of opportunity.

2084. We live in a world which is intrinsically cruel and unfair -- the signal example -- murder is the usual price of survival. As tribal animals, whose success depends, in large measure, on co-operation, we may instinctively recoil at the cruelty of the justice of function -- and yearn for a world unblemished by competitive striving -- a haven of ease and untroubled harmony. While it is clear that the law of the jungle can -- and must -- be modified for a degree of social harmony -- it is not a legal construct, a statute subject to repeal -- but -- like gravity -- a universal reality. The great irony -- too often overlooked -- is that a determined pursuit of egalitarian harmony creates misery -- as it crushes the very engine of survival -- the  life force -- the innate, inegalitarian, competitive drive for success.

2083. "Equality" is a buzzword as dangerous as it is attractive. Rewarding people regardless of their competence ensures mediocrity and failure. But to choose failure -- no matter how virtuously egalitarian -- is to reject the force of life itself. A "virtuous" suicide still ends in death.  

2080. Capitalism reflects the justice of function, socialism represents the justice of being. One ignores compassion for the advantages of competence; the other sacrifices function for the appearance of equality.

2077. Affirmative action programs aim to create equality of result by ignoring equality of opportunity. 

2074. In every era, there are truths that dare not speak their names. In the past, perhaps, it was "The king is an idiot" -- or "God does not exist." The current sacrilege is to say "People are not equal." To say that they never have been and never will be is to invite permanent exclusion from polite society and -- probably -- an enforced regime of anti-psychotic medications.

2070. Socialism offers equality, freedom from responsibility, and free stuff. But the premise is not egalitarian -- it assumes an elite of central planners who will enforce the "equality" of the rest. That is why socialism invariably devolves into dictatorship.

2068. "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity" is an attractive slogan which ignores the fact that "equality" is restrictive,  inimical to "liberty," and ultimately unattainable. Further, while "fraternity" is a necessary co-operative element in civilized society -- it must share space with the reality of competition -- the seed of progress, and the beating, disruptive heart at the core of all existence.

2067. A reduction in inequality may have social benefits -- but every virtue is subject to the law of diminishing returns. While reducing inequality may beneficially enhance the freedom of the less successful, when equality becomes the chief prize, competition -- the seed of progress -- is constrained. Success may acquire the moral taint of unfair advantage, and failure -- explained solely by oppression -- becomes the hallmark of moral purity. At some point, the net result is negative: the focus on equality of result denies equality of opportunity, restricts freedom, and ensures mediocrity.

2066. The great problem of the human condition is that life is inherently unfair. Further, while attempts to remedy inequities are noble, and often socially useful, they are subject to the law of diminishing -- and ultimately negative -- returns.

2056. If equality reigned, the sameness would be fatal. The human race would die of boredom, futility, or paralysis.

2055. No human endeavour would be undertaken if equal outcomes were assured.

2055. If all sports competitions were required to have equal outcomes, everyone -- including the players -- would just stay home.

2054. The more liberty, the more inequality.

2053. Liberty cannot lead to equality, because liberty allows choice. No one who has the freedom to choose the best will choose mere equality.

2051. "Equality" sounds attractive -- until you realize it is a theoretical state which is incompatible with freedom, choice, and change.

2050. The pretense that unequal things are equal is the rot at the heart of the left wing narrative. It leads to the denial of competence, and the disregard of merit; it entails and assures mediocrity and dysfunction.

2049. Those who recognize the competitive necessities and hierarchical realities of the human condition also acknowledge the societal need for balance -- co-operation and compassion. Egalitarians, convinced of the virtue of their absurd  beliefs, are more doctrinaire: they would banish competition, discourage initiative, and disparage success -- even though the inevitable and necessary result is the mire of mediocrity, the paralysis of defeat.

2006. Variability -- both individual and cultural -- ensures unequal outcomes.

2004. When equal outcomes are hailed as justice -- either human variability has been finally extinguished, or someone is cooking the books.

2003. When unequal things are placed on the scales of justice, they will not weigh the same. If they are pronounced equal -- then "justice" is on the take.

2002. It is a great mistake to confuse equality with justice. When things with unequal function are equally valued, justice has deferred to delusion.

2000. Competition -- with its unkind distinction between winners and losers -- is the cruelty at the heart of all existence. It can be modified or restrained -- indeed, that is a requirement of civilized society -- but not eradicated.  Eradication implies the "virtue" of equality, but that is an impossible ideal, a perfection consistent only with finality -- the death blow of stasis. Competition may be cruel, but it is inevitable -- it is implicit in change and a function of the  pulse of life itself.

2001. Society requires an uneasy schizophrenia: we feel compelled to praise the ideal, but must ultimately value survival. Thus, the gilded chalice of equality is for show, ceremony, and the signalling of virtue; drinking from it is unwise --the poison first paralyzes, then destroys.

1998. It is fascinating that, in the attempt to eradicate "racism," one of the chief strategies has been to convince white people that their skin colour makes them inherently evil. This confirms our long held contention that the proclaimed desire for "equality" is often deceptive: it is a false front for the fundamental human desire for triumph.

1997. Those who complain that the world is screwed up fail to understand that turmoil is in the blueprint. Every society reflects the conflict between the competitive evolutionary reality of living creatures -- where function is all -- and tribal attempts to modify it -- by reducing competition and supporting the less competent. (We have noted the opposition between the "justice of function" -- which rewards competence --and the "justice of being" an egalitarian concept which -- in its extreme form -- rewards all equally -- just for "being" there.)  The conflict is profound and fundamental. Neither can triumph -- neither can be utterly dismissed. Nor can either can be seen as inherently virtuous. If virtue lies anywhere -- it is in the acceptance of a middle ground which, while always appearing unsatisfactory, will give reasonable, viable recognition to each element. 

1991. Competition is in the blueprint of nature; cruelly, it declares winners and losers, and requires constant adaptation on pain of death. Human beings yearn to build crystal palaces of serenity and egalitarian happiness. The  disparity between blueprint limitations and architect aspirations explains the structural defects of the human condition.

1986. Affirmative action policies are discriminatory pigs gussied up with egalitarian lipstick.

1985. Affirmative action policies lack termination dates -- and thus subvert their only possible justification: a temporary measure to disrupt long-held prejudices. Those who create them signal their belief that those affirmed are permanently inferior -- and need perpetual favour to give the appearance of equality. The affirmed do not object -- since what they seek is not equality -- but -- as is common among all human beings -- improvement. 

1984. All civilizations decline -- we suspect that it is because the populace eventually ceases to believe in the raison d'être, the defining myth -- the zeitgeist -- which fuelled the rise. Once the cultural glue of confidence is compromised, the society becomes vulnerable to those more assured. It would appear that western civilization has reached this point. The beliefs in excellence, competition, freedom, self-reliance -- even the concept of nationhood itself --are crumbling in the dedication to equality, security, and  the preservation of feelings. It is thought that the culture can be cancelled, and built back better on the basis of equality, diversity, and inclusion. It is an experiment which overlooks the fundamentally competitive nature of the reality of which we are irrevocably a part.   

1982. We live in an era of extraordinary delusion -- apparently convinced that fine intentions and the signalling of egalitarian virtue will overcome the competitive nature of reality. 

1981. (a) The down-to earth version: The evolutionary imperative is that some will succeed, and others fail. The civilized imperative is that equality should reign: individuals -- and the groups to which they belong -- are equal; one idea about the conduct of society is just as good as the next -- even if they should be contradictory; failure must be extinguished -- no one should be left behind -- and success made universal. Now you understand why bullshit is an essential component of the human condition.

(b) The Bowdlerized version  The evolutionary imperative is that some will succeed, and others fail. The civilized imperative is that equality should reign: individuals -- and the groups to which they belong -- are equal; one idea about the conduct of society is just as good as the next -- even if they should be contradictory; failure must be extinguished -- no one should be left behind -- and success made universal. Now you understand why lying is an essential component of the human condition.

1980. We have attempted -- in the interest of shortening the path to Nirvana -- to elucidate certain laws of Cultural Economy. Such laws will continue to be ignored, and the persistence of cultural conflict -- often mischaracterized as racism -- will be piteously lamented. The overriding preferred narrative is that all cultures are equal and wondrously compatible. The truth will always be ignored if it challenges a cherished illusion.

1970. Every time you make a choice, you deny the principle of equality: you are declaring that some things are better than others. Not only is inequality the cause of galaxies and the wellspring of evolution, it is the beating heart of freedom, choice, and progress.

1967. Buzzwords such as "diversity," inclusivity," and "equality" soothe the ear but cloud the mind. "Diversity" must reject the fact that some ideas work better than others; "inclusivity" cannot reward competence; "equality" must eschew the triumph of excellence. The modern choice -- virtue signalling over virtue creation -- façade over function -- is both restrictive and destructive.

1957. There is an inherent justice in mediocrity -- what it seeks, it invariably attains and invariably deserves.

1955. Those who say they want equality -- particularly equality of result for a group in which they claim membership -- are lying. They are using the word "equality"  because of its implication of justice -- its connotation of unimpeachable morality. What they really want is improvement, along with the special status they feel their group deserves;  they will not be dissatisfied with superiority -- or a pleasing element of revenge.

1953. A liberal believes not merely that the one-legged man can win the footrace, but that his failure to do so represents an unacceptable deviation from the egalitarian principle intrinsic to the function of the universe. A motorized scooter provided by the government is the required solution. A conservative believes the man should expend his energies in the field most likely to bring success, and he should be reasonably content with the rewards his best diligence can produce. The scooter should be provided only in the case of failure to achieve basic needs. 

1951. Many yearn for an "equality" of different groups. Certainly the removal of barriers to achievement for all individuals should be a priority. But equality of achievement will not occur with the waving of wishful egalitarian wands. Individuals, and the groups of which they are a part, will prosper or fail according to their merits, and the unavoidable vagaries of circumstance.

1936. Those who prattle on about equity, diversity, and inclusion believe they are offering solutions. In fact, they are symptoms of a problem -- the refusal to acknowledge the necessity of competition, and to recognize the legitimate claims of merit and competence.

1934. Every society will seek to modify the law of the jungle -- to mitigate the extremes of competition which threaten social cohesion and co-operation. The great error is to believe that competition can be banished in an egalitarian utopia -- since it is the beating heart of the evolutionary process -- the necessary and persistent wellspring of all progress.   

1933. The claim that all men are equal is nonsense -- but often repeated -- because fantasy flatters, and the truth hurts.

1932. The idea that all men are created equal is nonsense -- and everybody knows it. That the claim is repeated so often shows the degree to which self-esteem can be bolstered with the mere signal of virtue -- the promulgation of an egalitarian lie -- rather than from the practice of virtue itself -- a careful adherence to truth.

1930. The pretence of multiculturalism is that all cultural values are compatible. This assumption is a deliberate signalling of virtue: it puts egalitarian delusions ahead of obdurate facts -- and ensures social conflict. Look at Europe.

1928. Groups who seek redress on the basis of "justice of being" may find that proclamations of equality are cheap -- and that in a crunch -- considerable emphasis is placed on conformity and competence.

1927. The justice of function values competition -- it is the law of the jungle. The justice of being pretends to equality -- a state wherein all are rewarded regardless of merit. Civilized justice requires some middle path -- but there is no  diagram on file. 

1926. Those who seek social justice should be aware of the two extremes -- the justice of function -- which rewards speed, strength, determination, and cunning -- and the justice of being -- which rewards without distinction or reservation. The justice of being is also known as mercy.

1925. Affirmative action policies show disdain for the principle of equality of opportunity -- which allows merit to triumph -- in favour of equality of result -- which assumes that competence is irrelevant.

1915. One of life's little ironies: those who strive for "equality" discover how competitive a process it is.

1914. Those who claim to strive for equality usually have someone (themselves) or some group (their group) at whose superiority they would not entirely be dismayed.

1913. Competition -- not equality -- is what makes the world go 'round.

1910. Those who claim to seek equality of outcome are not to be trusted. Their real aim is a degree of improvement which excludes neither triumph nor revenge.

1908. The currently fashionable signalling of virtue: The past can be re-written, and a new crystal palace can be built. Human beings can be transformed into the apparently perfect but lifeless figures of an egalitarian crystal menagerie.

1901. "Nobody left behind" expresses the pious hope of inclusion. But if no one is left behind, there can be no one forging ahead. Every race will end with an equality of mediocrity.

1888. To understand human societies we need no lessons beyond those which evolution provides. Change is the essence of life, and change is a competitive process -- equality is unknown because it requires stasis. Evolution achieves radical change with incremental steps which are the result of the interplay between innovation and conformity. A mutation is tested against the conformity demanded by the environment. Those which pass the test may be adopted if they are competitively advantageous; the rest fail. As the environment changes, so does the viability of any particular innovation. So it is in societies. All tribes are essentially conformist -- for too much diversity would be chaotic and destructive. Against this conformity progress is made -- not by achieving equality -- but through small changes -- ideas which arise and are tested for survival in the social climate. Once again --as the tribal environment changes, so ideas -- once impossible -- may become embedded in a new conformity.

1876. Beware of those who promise equality: the attempt to provide what cannot exist guarantees hardship and misery.

1875. Socialism promises equality, delivers slavery.

1863. The egalitarian/globalist dream is of universal cultural compatibility. The truth is that the caste system is not compatible with judging people on their merits; laws against blasphemy are not compatible with freedom of speech; and  a belief in the supremacy of religion is not compatible with the democratic notion of the importance of the will of the people.

1862. No one talks about the equality of the apple and the peach -- they are valued for different characteristics. How lucky they are not to be Mr. Apple and Ms. Peach.

1859. People are -- naturally -- reluctant to accept that you cannot have all goods in equal measure at the same time. If you want more equality -- you will have less liberty; if feelings are to be protected, you will have to ignore facts; if inclusivity is most important, you will have to abandon standards. Those who insist that square pegs are compatible with round holes are called idealists by fools and fools by realists.   

1856. Utopian dreams are invariably constrained by the real limitations of human nature. Human nature is the result of a process primarily competitive -- not egalitarian.

1855. Those who seek to destroy one hierarchy will invariably create another. The form is vulnerable -- not the concept; hierarchy is intrinsic to all existence.

1854. It's a disappointment to egalitarians -- but there are actually three certainties: death, taxes, and hierarchy.

1842. We live with monsters, dream of angels. The monsters are change, inequality. competitive struggle, and capitalism. The angels are perfection, equality, ordered ease, and socialism. The monsters can -- to some extent -- be tamed for social respectability -- but not slain -- since they are inseparable from the energy that is life. The attempt to breathe life into angels may appear noble, but it creates evils greater than those we already bear.

1841. Some people appear to believe that equality of opportunity will lead to equality of result -- which serves to show the fragility of the line between hopefulness and stupidity.

1840. It is often said one cannot serve two masters. When choosing between equality and excellence, it should be noted that one offers better working conditions; the other pays higher wages.

1836. Equality -- like handsome -- should be judged not as it appears -- but as it does. It does a lot of stupid things.

1835. Equality bleats like a sheep -- but devours like a wolf. Some things are better than others -- and the failure to make moral distinctions -- the failure to reward good or discourage evil -- ensures a moral dystopia.  

1834. Egalitarians make the fallacious claim that people should be respected for who they are. But people should earn -- or lose -- respect -- according to what they do. Moral neutrality is highly immoral.

1833. An acceptance of reality can be remarkably freeing. Once you can say that equality is not in the blueprint of nature, and that political correctness is a dangerous sentimentalization of reality, you can come -- with great relief -- to conclusions formerly forbidden -- considered unkind, anti-social, immoral, and disruptive.  

1832. Multiculturalism -- based on the idea that all cultures are equally worthy and inherently compatible -- is not realistic. A policy of accepting immigrants from different cultures is viable -- as long as there is an understanding that cultural values can be antithetical, and necessary accommodations must be made by immigrants -- not by the inhabitants of the country of destination. 

1828. "Diversity" and "inclusivity" are buzzwords rooted in the notion of equality. Diversity -- often held up as a desirable goal -- assumes diverse elements are equally worthy; inclusivity -- similarly -- assumes that everybody included is equally competent. In fact, diversity can lead to dangerous divisions -- and inclusivity suggests that standards and merit are irrelevant. Who wants to drive over a bridge constructed by an "inclusive" group of builders who have no knowledge of engineering principles -- and who have widely "diverse" opinions about its load-bearing capacity?

1826. During the Obama presidency, it was thought students should be held to account differently -- according to their backgrounds; thus, it would appear that there was no link between troublemakers and culture. It is extraordinary how stupid people become when they decide to ignore reality,  and subscribe to a "preferred narrative."

1825. Democracy assumes the existence of a knowledgeable and intellectually competent electorate. Socialist educational policies -- which value "equality" rather than accomplishment -- help to create exactly the kind of gullible population which socialism needs to achieve its "egalitarian" -- but oppressively authoritarian -- "utopia."

1822. There is an indelible wound in the human condition: In the reality of struggle -- with the fact of intrinsic disparities -- we dream of perfect ease and universal equality. To settle for less suggests a pact with the devil -- but the determined pursuit of unattainable perfection leads -- paradoxically but inevitably -- to oppression and moral failure.

1820. The difference between a genuine virtue and a false one may be a matter of degree: most virtues, carried to excess, become oppressive, harmful, and counter-productive. As Alexander Pope observed in the 18th century: the difference is too nice / Where ends the virtue or begins the vice.

1819. The worship of false virtues paves the way for evil. False virtues include the extremes of "diversity," "inclusivity," "multiculturalism," "equality," and "tolerance."

1812. Beneath the mask of equality -- the hidden truth -- the silent, grinning skull of stasis.

1798. The most dangerous intellectual malady in the world today is Multiple Cake Syndrome -- the belief that  you can have your cake and eat it too -- that irreconcilable opposites are comfortably compatible. You cannot have any of the following: competitions in which everybody wins;  honesty and unhurt feelings; truth and political correctness; success measured by degrees of victimhood; absolute mercy and perfect justice; open borders and national sovereignty; multiculturalism and national unity; unlimited diversity and social cohesion; inclusivity and standards of competence;  freedom of speech and laws against blasphemy; a secular society which defers to religious superstitions. Finally-- you cannot achieve the most cherished and delectable of confusions -- you cannot recognize the simple fact of the real world -- that some things are better than others -- and yet proclaim that all individuals, groups, cultures, and religions are equal.   

1787. The natural world is cruel and competitive; the ideal world merciful and egalitarian. The civilized world is a utilitarian compromise. The key word is "utilitarian:" civilization cannot survive either extreme: the imperative of competition, or the fantasy of equality.

1771. Everyone should be required to play squash. Any fantasies about the egalitarian nature of existence would be obliterated. The cruel competitive realities of failure and success would become evident -- and the utter ruthlessness bred into the human heart would become abundantly manifest. This would lead -- in many -- to a sobering re-assessment of the underlying realities of the human condition. (Compulsory military service might be an acceptable substitute.)

1765. Every dream of Utopia is subverted by the nightmare fact: some things are better than others. Inequality is the bite of every paradisal apple -- it ensures that community will be diluted by competitive struggle, and that contentment will be marred by the cruel but inevitable distinction between failure and success. 

1762. The reduction of inequality has, arguably, led to less division and violence in society; the pursuit of equality, however, illustrates the operation of law of diminishing  returns.

1746. While Jews represent only two percent of the population, they have received twenty-two percent of Nobel Prizes. Obviously, affirmative action policies are desperately needed. The Nobel committees should immediately stop selecting recipients on the basis of the significance of their contribution to human affairs, and make awards based on lesser achievements -- but those which will more accurately suggest the equality of all races and cultures. 

1743. "Diversity" is simply "'equality" wearing pants of a different colour. Each rejects merit, competence, and suitability -- all of which suggest the anathema of hierarchy -- and each defers to the universal, undiscriminating welcome of "inclusivity."

1730. The socialist impulse has an infected, totalitarian root: the vision of an egalitarian nirvana justifies any burden of human sacrifice. That is why the path of socialism leads to dictatorship.

1718. Homo Sapiens is one of the most successful results of eons of competitive evolutionary struggle. It is interesting how unpopular success has now become, and how often failure is celebrated as a kind of moral triumph. Perhaps this represents, merely, a longing for our roots -- the untroubled egalitarian days of single-celled bliss.

1716. The legitimate outcome of equality of opportunity is not equality of result -- but the reflection of unequal abilities, determinations, and happenstance.

1715. There is no moral compass which allows for the sacrifice of equality of opportunity to achieve the equality of result. (This is the immoral remedy of affirmative action schemes.)

1706. The man with no legs will not win the footrace. Jungle justice declares his failure to be final and complete; compassionate justice, obsessed with equality of outcome, says his reward should be no less than that of the most proficient runner. Civilized justice must find a middle ground between cruelty and stupidity.

1697. Socialists do not realize that the essence of life is the struggle for unequal outcomes -- that the lifeblood of the human condition is the freedom to achieve success by overcoming adversity. They believe in a perennial perambulator of "equality" -- a doled-out baby formula of "security" -- and a level route designed to avoid the hills and valleys of reality. The effect is to ensure passivity and dependence -- to build a cage of incompetence and failure.

1688. To hold that men are equal is an insulting over-simplification -- it represents a false accusation of uniformity among beings complex, varied, and uniquely different.

1687. Equality is incompatible with change and merit; it is consistent with stasis and death.

1673. Sometimes hard choices must be made. Equality or merit? Compassion or justice? Political correctness or freedom? What sounds good or what works?

1669. Political correctness values equality, and thus assures mediocrity.

1668. Every society should consider, carefully, the claims of excellence and the entreaties of equality. The choice is between meritocracy and mediocrity.

1666. The great challenge of the modern age is to square the circle: to admit that some ideas are better than others, while pretending that all ideas -- and the people holding them -- are absolutely equal.

1661. Equality is incompatible with change, and hence with the vicissitudes of existence. Climbing out of a real abyss is possible; reaching the top of an infinite mountain -- a mountain of equality -- is not.

1660. The kryptonite for equality is change.

1643. The success of any society is determined by its geography -- the location -- and landscape of the mind: the ethos. The modern folly is to pretend that only location is important, and that all cultures are equal.

1640. The egalitarian society is a utopian dream. There will always be elites of wealth, power, influence, talent, creativity, sophistication, and intellectual accomplishment. The goal should be that the barriers to success in any sphere be minimized.

1639. Man was not made for the planned egalitarian ease promised by socialism, but for the freedom and struggle inherent in capitalism. The cruel necessity of competitive struggle can be mitigated, but not abolished. That is why socialism invariably tends towards dictatorship, and why remote, communal, government-funded Indian reserves are cultural disasters.

1624. Altruism -- despite its claim -- is still, ultimately, the handmaiden of competitive societal advantage; the society which believes that competition -- with its callous distinction between failure and success -- can be replaced with egalitarian loving kindness -- will not survive. It will be superseded by those with a better understanding of reality.

1622. Socialism and political correctness are both based on ideal, egalitarian visions of reality; they are both oppressive in the real world.

1620. The attempt to create the crystal people needed for the "egalitarian" crystal palace of socialism is intrinsically oppressive; socialism invariably veers towards dictatorship.

1614. A focus on equality of opportunity must surely enhance the prospects for any nation, since it allows for competition among the best and most talented to exert their influence for excellence. Similarly, a focus on equality of result is restrictive -- a leavening of the best with the worst is the definition of mediocrity.

1612. Any hint of hierarchy is anathema to the egalitarian impulse; for this reason, failure becomes the mark of a compensating virtue, and success the certain proof of moral turpitude.

1610. Excellence is a winning racehorse; equality is a winning unicorn.

1609. Equality and excellence inhabit different universes.

1608. If you are interested in winning, you will not anguish over equality. The reverse is also true.

1547. Socialism will always fail because it pretends that greed and ambition are appropriate only in the governing class; the average citizen is expected to be content in an equality of mediocrity and misery. Capitalism succeeds, paradoxically, because it is far more egalitarian: it gives scope for the greed and ambition of all citizens.

1544. The advantage of democracy is that it provides a mechanism for the supervision of the necessary evil of government dictatorship. Socialists -- in power -- devoted to central planning and utterly convinced of the virtue of their egalitarian cause -- tend to regard elections as intrusive and destructive; socialism naturally tends towards unfettered dictatorship.

1542. That men and women have exactly the same interests and ambitions -- and hence should be equally represented in all occupations, professions, and endeavours -- is an idea so profoundly stupid that it appears --as might be expected -- prominently in the lexicon of leftish ludicracies. (Nor is it surprising that the current Prime Minister, characteristically reflexive rather than reflective, appears to have taken it to heart.)

1541. Everyone knows, deep down, that equality of result is an absurd fiction, and that even equality of opportunity -- while an admirable goal -- is difficult to achieve in the real world.  But "equality" has become synonymous with "virtue:" that is why so many -- anxious to appear generous and compassionate -- proclaim it -- from the rooftops -- as the proper goal and saving grace of all mankind.

1506. Evil can be both deliberate -- and -- the unintended consequence of idealism. The most dangerous idealism involves the certain belief in an authoritarian and inflexible God; after that comes the belief that "equality" is both desirable and attainable.

1492.We must strive for equality of opportunity, but accept inequality of result as not necessarily requiring remediation. This is not inconsistency; it is reality.

1489. Inequality-- unpleasant and unfair -- is much lamented; reducing it may be helpful. But equality -- if it were attainable -- would be just as unfair, and even more unpleasant.

1487. In a world of equality, the visitors and the home team would always score the same number of goals. Everybody would be dead of boredom by the age of twenty.

1481. Change is at the heart of all things; "Equality" cannot change without destroying itself -- it is an unachievable fantasy of stability.

1480. When "Equality" shakes hands with "Change" -- only one will disintegrate in a regretful puff of smoke. It's not "Change."

1477. Political correctness pretends that feelings are sacrosanct, and that "equality" of self-esteem is an achievable goal. They aren't, and it isn't -- which explains why political correctness -- wrapped in a mantle of self-righteous virtue -- encounters so many witches worthy of burning, and shows such enthusiasm in committing them to the flames.

1475. "Equality" is the source of the new tyranny. It is the new God, invisible but proclaimed, to which sacrifice of common sense must be made. It is known, variously, as affirmative action, multiculturalism, socialism, and political correctness.   

1472. Those who dream of equality should remember that, after the big bang, matter triumphed over anti-matter -- and -- without slight variations in the density of the distribution of matter -- galaxies would not exist. Once again --"equality' is not in the blueprint of nature.

1456. Every improvement represents a triumph of function or concept; every flower of success has, by definition, a competitive root.

1415. We are born hierarchical, and long for equality.

1396. Instead of becoming obsessed with abstract notions such as "equality," we should focus on what our uniqueness can contribute to those around us and to the world at large.

1385. The great battle today is between those for whom progress lies in making unequal things equal, and those for whom progress involves the inegalitarian process of improvement.

1384. The modern egalitarian is not noted for his ability to erase differences; rather, he is remarkable for his determination to pretend that they do not exist.

1353. The preference for fantasy over fact is a modern folly. Equality of result is neither desirable nor attainable; adversity is woven into the fabric of existence, and hurt feelings are unavoidable;  the pursuit of all ideals -- especially those claiming religious sanction -- should be governed by a consideration of likely practical consequences rather than by a blind belief in the validity of hopeful intentions.   

1347. Canada's universal health care system is both falsely egalitarian and truly oppressive. The patient, who -- in a capitalist society -- would be a customer able to take his business elsewhere -- is reduced -- in a socialist scheme -- to a supplicant without options. The price of security is always liberty.

1346. The fact that the world is populated by sentient creatures -- rather than just single-celled organisms -- is a testament to the power of competition -- a proof of the magnificent, unstoppable, creative force of inequality. 

1337. It is the modern folly to believe that equality is synonymous with justice. In fact some things are -- justly and justifiably -- better than others.

1336. "Affirmative action" -- and all endeavours based on that template -- embrace a signal perversity: the remedy for injustice is further injustice.

1331. Equality implies stasis and death; fortunately, it is not attainable.  It is inequality -- not equality -- which is at the heart of all change, all life, and all progress. (Derived from #420 and #741.)

1330. The human condition might be significantly improved if foolish ideals were abandoned in favour of attainable goals. Some reduction of inequality may be both beneficial and attainable; equality itself is a fantasy, and the attempt to create it is invariably destructive. 

1309. Those who dream of equality would banish both the despair of failure and the triumph of success -- the home team and the visitors would always score the same number of goals. Their dream, in fact, is the dream of death -- for the essence of life is the struggle for unequal outcomes.

1305. Equality of result is not attainable; the truth of this proposition may be inferred from the fact that so many inegalitarian measures are required in the attempt. 

1304. Those who attempt to achieve "equality" invariably do so by treating people unequally.

1303. Assuming that "victims" are saints -- always worthy of belief -- reflects the informing principle of much modern egalitarianism: the best remedy for injustice is more injustice.

1300. Making the use of transgendered pronouns a legal requirement arms one group of citizens with a toxic, nearly invincible weapon to be used against those who displease them. Such an unseemly power is corrosive and corrupting; it is folly to assume the claim of victimhood confers a condition of saintliness.

1292. The ticking time bomb of truth which has the power to destroy the politically correct, egalitarian, liberal ethos: some things are better than others.

1291. Every society will reflect the tension between competition and co-operation, between the claims of merit and the yearnings for equality.

1290. The reduction of inequality should never be confused with the creation of "equality." One may, on balance, enhance liberty; the other invariably restricts it. (Unfortunately, no bell sounds when the virtue becomes the vice.)

1289. "Equality Success" is the reward, compensation, or consideration sought by a person or group claiming victimhood. 

1288. "Equality Success" is that compensation given to those who claim past or present victimhood; it is based on the premise that success is universally and equally deserved. 

1287. When real success is unobtainable, "Equality Success" -- the validation and recognition of victimhood -- is often an agreeable compensating alternative.

1286. There is a simple, basic truth which has the power to lacerate the heart of every socialist, to wither and destroy the soul of every multiculturalist, and to send every politically correct egalitarian screaming over the edge of the nearest abyss. It is simply this: "equality" is a figment of the human imagination -- some ideas, approaches and principles have superior function and effectiveness -- they bring more success -- than others.

1285. The removal of prejudicial barriers, the providing of equality of opportunity, and the achievement of equality of result are distinctly different concepts; they range from the reasonable, to the difficult, to the impossible. They are sometimes confused by those for whom thinking is an untried novelty.

1283. When prejudicial barriers to participation in employment are removed -- liberty is enhanced. But the requirement that a particular group be represented in any type of employment is restrictive. "Equality" purchased at the cost of liberty should be given its true name: oppression.

1239. The current "correct" view is that "equality" is a reality implicit in the nature of things -- or one that must, at all costs, be engineered. Thus all apparent competence and success bear the taint of moral failure -- and must be condemned. On the other hand, failure and incompetence are seen as evidence of moral virtue -- and must be promoted and encouraged. It is thought that high self-esteem should be independent of accomplishment, and feelings -- so often vulnerable to facts -- must never suffer the perception of an "unequal" deficiency. Thus, it appears that the prime requirement for holding socially approved views is intellectual dishonesty. 

1237. "Equality" sounds good; "merit" works. The desire to substitute one for the other is a modern folly – one which underlies socialism, multiculturalism, and, of course – political correctness.

1229. The law of the jungle says that inadequate, unhappy, and inefficient cultures must adapt or die; the law of compassionate civilization says they must be cherished and encouraged as equally worthy. Those who consistently choose tact over truth are likely to go politely extinct.

1227. We are moving from an era of religious idealism to one of secular idealism; the central secular ideal -- which underlies socialism, multiculturalism, and political correctness -- is that of "equality." Beyond, a corrective era awaits -- one in which it is recognized that ideals must be tempered by reality.

1221. The great promise of socialism is "equality." But "equality' is a Procrustean bed into which real, competitive, and unequal human beings simply will not fit. The attempts to make them fit explain why socialist experiments  eventually end as dictatorships.

1214. Aiding the unfortunate should never be referred to as "reducing inequality" -- since that suggests that "equality" is a desirable goal. It is not: the attempt to attain the unattainable is coercive and stupid. "Aiding the unfortunate" should be referred to as "aiding the unfortunate."

1213. We are witnessing a period of self-loathing in western societies which is based on a sense that "equality" is the bedrock reality of the human condition. Using that standard, everything which is "successful" offends the egalitarian moral imperative, and, in that sense, is a failure. Conversely, anything manifestly unsuccessful represents an oppressed virtue in dire need of promotion and respect.

1212. Human beings respond to incentives; they are inherently competitive. Just as the competitive spirit cannot be allowed unfettered reign, neither can it be extinguished. Those who attempt to do so -- under the banners of virtue and equality -- are not merely foolish; given sufficient power, they become dictators -- and murderers.

1206. The just society does not promote equality, rather, it removes barriers to self-fulfilment. It allows capitalism as the most efficient economic system, but mitigates its Darwinian effects by alleviating need.

1202. The law of the survival of the fittest is cruel, but axiomatic and irrefutable. As civilizations focus on equality, rather than merit, so they ensure their decline.

1201. Socialism, multiculturalism, and political correctness are all informed by the principle of equality. Since "equality" is an unattainable ideal state, coercion and oppression are intrinsic to all three.

1200. What evils are wrought in the name of "equality!" It is the Procrustean bed into which the great unequal masses of mankind must be forced in order to proclaim that "virtue" has been achieved.

1199. The strand of self-loathing currently so evident in western civilization may be attributed to the idealistic focus on equality. All western achievements fail the egalitarian test; true virtue is to be found in cultures less competent, and less successful -- the traditionally disparaged. Even  directly antithetical cultural values must be spared criticism in the name of "equality." 

1198. When equality is the measure, all success is tainted by failure.

1183. We live in an age of "necessary equality." The truth -- that things are inherently unequal -- must be denied at all costs.

1176. Those who murder for the "correct" socialist reasons seem to be judged on their fine egalitarian intentions – never on their ruthless means and disastrous results. (Ireland issues Che Guevara stamp.)

1172. The great revolutionary truth that hardly dares to speak its name: some things are better than others.

1171. We live in a time of universal deceit -- and there is little appetite for revolution. "Equality" is the pleasant lie which underlies multiculturalism, socialism, and, indeed, political correctness itself.

1169. Everyone knows that people are not equal. That is why it is necessary to keep insisting -- with such vehemence and conviction -- that they are. That is why we are always willing to give socialism one more chance.

1167. The most dangerous men are those who have -- or pretend they have -- a vision of an egalitarian society. That noble end will justify a tsunami of oppressive means.

1166. The secret to a successful murderous dictatorship is to call it socialism.

1165. Emphasizing equality rather than merit will work -- as long as you are not in competition with realists.

1157. Socialism pretends to equality; but the distinction -- the inequality -- between the central planners and those who must fit into their plan reveals the intrinsic and fatal flaw in the pretence.

1154. Socialism promises the ideal of equality; it fails to note two pertinent truths: equality is not actually attainable in the real world -- and the attempt to achieve the impossible is invariably oppressive and coercive.

1153. When the rallying cry is "equality," it takes a very brave man to resist. There is little to be gained from denying cherished illusions.

1152. Socialism proves -- through its repeated failures -- that equality is not in the blueprint of nature. That socialist schemes are still pursued illustrates the continuing unpopularity of reality.

1151. Churchill described the virtues of socialism and capitalism as – respectively – the equal sharing of misery and the unequal sharing of blessings. What the Canadian health care system shows is even less flattering to socialism: despite the pretence, even the sharing of misery is unequal.

1150. Socialism teaches a valuable -- although very expensive -- lesson: societies cannot function on the principle of equality. Unfortunately, idealists are very slow learners.

1149. Socialism: the aim -- equality; the result -- stupidity.

1133. The great intellectual failure of the left is to assume that ideal conceptions represent viable alternatives in real life. It is easy to proclaim virtue by being on the side of peace, tolerance, and equality. But peace may entail self-destruction, tolerance of evil allows it to spread, and equality -- if it were actually attainable -- implies mediocrity, stasis, and the cessation of progress. Choosing -- in the real world -- usually involves determining the lesser evil. 

1132. Political correctness attempts to realize -- on earth -- a heaven of equality, with saintly concomitants of benign tolerance and universal respect. The problem is that equality is not in the blueprint of natural things, and what political correctness exposes -- unintentionally -- is the gargantuan gap between the ideal and the real.

1131. When excellence plays second fiddle to diversity, the performance will suffer. (The more refined version of #1130)

1130. When excellence plays second fiddle to diversity, the tune will stink.

1120. Political correctness aims for a world of equality where feelings are triumphantly unhurt; the attempt is oppressive, and ultimately must founder on the implacable truth: feelings can never be sacrosanct, and equality is not in the blueprint of natural things.

1118. Socialism illustrates the tyranny of the ideal: it invariably leads to dictatorship.

1099. Political correctness invariably leads to moral relativism -- because the commitment to "equality" precludes judgment. The criticism of ideas -- the suggestion that some ideas are better than others -- is considered unseemly and hurtful of feelings. But ultimately, basic judgments about life are necessary. It is better to be free than to be enslaved; it is better to be comfortable than in pain -- to be fed and sheltered rather than hungry and exposed. It is better to be confident than fearful. It is better to have more opportunities for self-fulfilment rather than fewer. It is better to live a long life than a short one. One may quibble at the edges of such assumptions -- there may be occasions when death is preferable to life -- but, quibbles aside, cultures can -- and should  -- be judged.

1085. Mr. Dawkins has noted the "epidemic" of restrictions on open speech. The pathogen responsible is the notion of equality; the disease is called political correctness. In the ideal world, people, cultures, and religions -- even ideas -- except those which deny the very premise of equality -- are equal. Thus criticism becomes "unfair" and -- the ultimate in tragedy -- hurtful of feelings. The ideal world is, necessarily, a restrictive and coercive factor in the real one.

1064. Life, at its core, is not egalitarian, but competitive. This fact may be deplored, and competition may be beneficially modified in the interests of "equality" -- but it can never be eliminated. The attempts to create egalitarian societies -- socialist states -- are coercive cures worse than the disease they are meant to remedy. All socialist societies are Procrustean beds -- they invariably become dictatorships as they attempt to force real, natural, competitive inequalities into a theoretical framework of equality.

1062. It is fashionable to proclaim -- especially in the interests of compassion and tolerance -- that unequal things are equal. In this manner, stupidity is enhanced, while the reality remains unchanged.

1021. Central planning can never achieve the promised equality -- for its premise is the existence of two unequal classes: the planners and the planned.

1015. Capitalism works because it recognizes and gives scope to the competitive instinct. Socialism doesn't work because it pretends that people don't want to compete -- they want to be equal. It's the distinction -- once again -- between what works and what sounds good.

1005. God, Equality, and the Easter Bunny have a lot in common.

996. The attractive theory is equality; the plain reality is hierarchy.

987. Sometimes the request for "equal treatment" is mere artful dodgery: the aim is, in fact, "special treatment."

907. Merit gets things done; "Equality" makes us feel good. But ultimately, feelings are no substitute for facts.

901. Socialism has a magnificent vision: a crystal palace of equality for all. Such edifices are doomed to fail -- since no one has found a way to construct the crystal people required to inhabit them.

885. It is currently fashionable to wallow in the misery of hurt feelings, and to vie in delineating degrees of outrage and victimization. When equality claims it is in bad taste to succeed -- triumph can still be found -- in complaint, frustration, or failure. Perhaps there is some comfort to be taken from the fact that the competitive spirit has not been entirely extinguished.

881. In dealing with some claims for "equality," it is necessary to distinguish between reasonable accommodation and the tyranny of the minority.  Sometimes "equality" looks like special treatment for those whose claim is based on subjective perceptions of oppression.

879. A revulsion against the manifest inequities of the real world has led to extraordinary and draconian attempts to create an ideal world of equality. The oppression necessary to create the ideal is self-defeating; failure is assured.

872. Reducing inequality is like extending lifespan -- very desirable, but subject to limitations, and not the sole purpose of existence.

862. The removal of barriers to participation may be described as a passive approach to promoting equality. An active approach involves the use of quotas and reverse discrimination, which is a cure at least as troubling as the disease. The implicit assumption is that equality is in the natural order of things. It is not.

857. Inequality is the bite of the apple -- the original sin -- both necessary and deplorable -- at the heart of all existence.

812. Each society must determine how much liberty should be sacrificed for security and equality.

811. Equality is no friend to liberty.

810. Schemes to promote equality invariably involve a loss of liberty.

809. The greater the freedom, the greater the inequality.

794. Equality is a fool's game; there's always someone richer, smarter, or better looking. It's better to try for your personal best.

754. Multiculturalism and socialism are conceptually attractive, but thoroughly impractical. One proclaims the equality of cultures, the other the equality of men. But to cherish equality is to reject what works -- merit, competence, and accomplishment. 

753. Equality looks like a peach, tastes like a lemon.

752. Equality is a false God, but a true Devil. His worshippers never achieve the promise of his name, but effectively seek to destroy competence, excellence, and achievement.

741. "Equality," "tolerance," "faith," ‘science" and "racism" are some of the most dangerous words in the English language – because they all encompass unjustified assumptions.

"Equality" is assumed to be the natural state of things, or a state towards which things should be -- virtuously -- manoeuvered. But while equality of opportunity and treatment are worthy aims, it is inequality -- not equality -- which is at the heart of all change, all life, and all progress. "Equality" is not attainable, except -- perhaps – in stasis, finality, and death. The true motive of those claiming to seek equality is generally improvement. Anyone who attains equality in some respect will not be satisfied; he will seek further improvement, even if that should result in inequality.

"Tolerance" and "faith" are assumed to be universally benign; but focus and direction are the determinants: tolerance of murder, or faith in a God who approves of human sacrifice, slavery, or cannibalism can hardly be considered virtuous.

"Science" suggests the authority of facts, and a reliability of prediction; but too often the term is applied to matters of mere hypothesis, to conclusions preliminary or premature, or to pronouncements made by those with expertise in a field labelled "scientific." Only a record of consistent predictive success gives evidence of a scientific understanding of how the world works.

"Racism" is used as a term of irrefutable opprobrium; it is often applied – not legitimately – to an irrational disapproval of race -- but illegitimately -- to simple criticisms of cultural ideas and practices.

721. Equality is the dream; competition is the reality.

719. Whenever anyone sets out to prove that equality and brotherhood are the central truths of the human condition, they are challenged by merit, and are overcome by competition.

708. We are the temporary achievement of relentless change and ceaseless striving; yet, like the flower that disdains the supportive soil and forgets its roots, we yearn for unwitherable bloom, and a quiet, unhurried garden of equality.

702. The idea of human equality -- a hopeful gloss of lipstick on the snout of truth.

689. "Equality" boasts of super-powers in a seductive and honeyed voice; but it is a poseur and charlatan -- always vulnerable to the kryptonite of truth.

685. Those who see equality as a legitimate goal are deluded; men seek not equality, but improvement. The bauble goal of equality -- be it reached or breached -- the desire for improvement remains.

682. The West has decided to trade in its moral compass for a shiny bauble called "equality" -- and a smug, self-congratulatory sense of "tolerance." In the end, the bargain will prove to be both debilitating and impoverishing.

664. Equality, like a spoiled child, demands attention, recognition, and reward -- whether they are deserved or not.

663. A melody is not created by selecting notes on the basis of their diversity, but on the basis of their effectiveness.

655. The despotic impulse is a human constant. It often appears cloaked as virtue -- protecting the sanctity of religion, the fragility of feelings, or the ideal of equality. It even pretends to a saving of the planet.                  

653. Truth will always be ignored if it threatens the cherished ideal of equality.

636. Society will always be torn between the pretence of equality -- in order to make people feel good -- and the need for a hierarchy of competence -- in order to make things work.

609. One thing is reliably certain -- my equality is a lot better than yours.

608. Caste and class systems represent the oppressive imposition of artificial inequality. The opposite -- the attempt to impose some degree of artificial equality -- is more laudable, but has limited scope. Equality before the law and equality of opportunity -- based on the the absence of discriminatory practices -- seem self-evidently worthy. The provision of one vote for each unequal citizen, or the taxing of the rich to provide for the poor may, on balance, be beneficial.  But the idea of imposed artificial equality -- carried too far -- denies the bedrock realities of success and failure -- and becomes just as oppressive as artificial inequality.

607. "Equality of opportunity" refers to the attempt to remove artificial barriers -- but still permits the effects of natural inequalities revealed by competition. "Equal opportunity" refers to the attempt to create an artificial circumstance of equal access to opportunity. "Equality of result" refers to the attempt to deny, by artificial means, any effects of natural inequalities. The range is from the admirable to the unlikely to the perversely impossible.

575. People should feel valued for their unique gifts and abilities. To seek validation in equality is to ensure disappointment.

574. There is a distinction between equality of opportunity and equal opportunity. One suggests a potential; the other assumes an unachievable circumstance.

573. Equality is not in the blueprint of natural things. Thus it will not be found among living creatures.

565. The ideal is that all human beings are equal, and should not be judged on the basis of their culturally derived ideas and attitudes. The fact is that cultural gulfs can be wide, deep, and dangerous. Pretending that there is no abyss will not repeal the law of gravity.

541. No garden of equality is without its serpent of competition.

538. Blown from the pipe of hope, the shimmering, iridescent bubbles of equality eventually find their way to the uneven reality of earth.

534. The level path is easy, but it will not bring you to the mountaintop.

527. Equality offers ambrosia in a poisoned chalice -- but Merit has never acquired a taste for suicide.

478. What an odd joke life is! After eons of competitive striving, matter achieves consciousness, renounces striving, and yearns, pathetically, for the stasis of equality.

459. The ladder of progress contains the rungs of freedom, competition, wealth, and inequality. Apart from the ladder is equality -- the smooth, level, unchallenging plain. But for all its superficial attractiveness, it rejects wealth, eschews competition, and enforces conformity.

456. Inequality is the seed of progress.

452. Equality is the desirable dream; inequality is the practical necessity.

450. Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so it eschews equality.

448. There are contradictions at the heart of human existence which ensure a restless dis-ease: sentient creatures can thrive only in the unreasonable expectation of their own permanence; uplifting, co-operative, egalitarian dreams are restrictively contained in a prevailing landscape of hostile competition. In short, religious and social ideals inevitably conflict with reality.

449. Some ideas – some accomplishments – are better than others. This landscape truth of mountain and abyss will always frustrate the prairie dreams of equality.

443. The United Nations is doomed to dysfunction because it falsely assumes the equality of nations and the moral equivalence of cultures.

438. Competition -- with its implications of inequality and injustice -- is much out of favour among those of the compassionate left. To them we would pose this question: Would you rather be the product of a competitively successful sperm, or one enabled to reach its destination with the aid of an auxiliary propeller -- installed at a government-sponsored after-school remedial swimming program -- and with the charitable provision -- from the International Sperm Workers' Co-operative Brotherhood -- of a taxi service for the difficult parts of the journey?

421. Equality is motionless, bound to the level and unvarying plain; only the exceptional can touch the stars.

420. Equality is to be found locked in the abyss of stasis, mired in the paralysis of perfection. Some things are better than others; this truth is at the heart of all change, all creativity, and all progress.

408. Failures of idealism: religion, socialism, multiculturalism, the United Nations, the compulsory universal healthcare system, concerted attempts to protect ideas or people from criticism, the committed belief that equality is a "natural" state – especially the notion that equality of result is either attainable or desirable.

372. It is a common error to confuse equality of opportunity with equality of result. One is a worthy aspiration, the other an absurd fantasy -- cherished chiefly by those who have undergone voluntary intellectual spinectomies.

368. Not all ideas are equal. In the real world, fact takes you farther than fancy.

346. Some ideas are better than others. The refusal to face this simple fact lies at the heart of multiculturalism.

344. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal... (The American Declaration of Independence) This, of course, is mere pious piffle, the empty puffery of platitudinous pretense. We must conclude that declarations of independence are meant to have the flavour of ceremonial occasions – in which the pomp of oratory is expected to vie with the facade of circumstance.

324. For the mindlessly compassionate, the road to equality is paved with the uneven stones of bias.

283. The path of merit may scale the heights of progress; the even road of equality -- contained in an imaginary fixed point of stasis -- leads nowhere.

252. Progress is achieved by evolution; evolution is the antithesis of equality. No one who wants progress wants equality.

230. Equality, that unexamined, almost universal desire, is inextricable from stasis -- and stasis is indistinguishable from death.

229. Capitalism can never be harnessed into the service of equality, for that is a blue-horned unicorn, a chimerical creature of the imagination run wild.

227. It has been oft observed that, while capitalism tends to create a disparity of wealth, the socialist alternative offers only a pretence -- a mask of equality slipped over the face of poverty.

221. The height of prosperity is not reached by traversing the even, level plain of equality; rather it is achieved by ascending the challenging and competitive slope of improvement.

220. Of all words, few are more dangerous than the word "equality."

183. Reality is Darwinian; man’s aspirations, egalitarian. From this obdurate dichotomy flows much disappointment, dissatisfaction, and despair.

168. When equality is the aim, mediocrity is the result; when excellence is the aim, equality finds its true place.

131. Equality is admirable as one lamb in the fold of justice–an impartial gatekeeper to public benefit and private opportunity; worshiped blindly as an all-encompassing principle, it is transformed: the tiger is unleashed, the essential cruelty, the Procrustean essence, comes inevitably, relentlessly, to the fore.

127. Those who would be reluctant to subscribe to the general proposition that "the end justifies the means," may yet see no difficulty in instituting preferential treatment in order to advance equality.

126. The modern fool is a strange creature indeed; he will readily admit the observable variability of natural talent: that A runs faster than B, that B is wittier than C, and that C is more eloquent than D–and yet take great offense at the dismissing of the old canard: "All men are created equal." We can only assume that the price of contentment is high, and folly the only coin suitable in the effecting of its purchase.

125. To strive for--and in some cases achieve--equality of opportunity, or equality of treatment, is a welcome enhancement of the light of human progress; to expect–or demand--equality of result is to call forth doomed yet disruptive forces which lurk in the abyss, in the profound, dark craters of human ignorance.

124. The road to equality envisioned by the socialists passes through a valley of corrective fire, the flames of which are as unsurvivable as they are perceived to be purifying.

117. The left has an admirable but single-eyed concern for mercy–the raising of the unfortunate to a state of equality; what is missing in its vision is a concern for merit, that element of justice which dismisses equality, and acknowledges the legitimacy of both failure and success.

102. Equality fascism is the authoritarian impulse directed at the creation of equality. Since equality is as unachievable as it is desirable, the impulse is both persistent and perilous; it inevitably involves the sacrifice of common sense notions of justice and freedom.

80. The harmony of civilization rests in finding a balance between the Darwinian realities of competition and hierarchy--and the ideal of equality. This balance is a matter of individual perception and circumstance, and, like the perfect shade of green, will always elude a final determination.

67. The ideal of equality in human affairs will always be undermined by the persistence of variation and preference, and by the realities of failure and success.

41. Equality of opportunity is difficult enough to achieve; equality of result is like the unicorn, a fanciful construct of the human imagination.

40. The desire for "equality" is the desire for improvement; no one seeks the equality which would involve a reduction in his circumstance. "Equality" once achieved--the desire for improvement remains--even if it should result in inequality.

39. Equality is as rare as the unicorn, and as possible as the seamless reconstruction of Humpty-Dumpty.

13. Affirmative action is simply discrimination with a pretty face.

8. If, in the interests of equality, single-celled organisms had adopted the governing philosophy of socialism, the present population of the world would consist entirely of single-celled organisms. Variation: If, in the interests of an ideal circumstance, single-celled organisms had chosen equality as the ultimate good, then the present population of the world would consist entirely of single-celled organisms.

7. Socialism places much store in the notion of equality, but all it can provide is equality of  poverty.

6. Equality is the enemy of advancement, and of wealth.