Equality, Liberty’s Lost Twin

Sound Bite

Inequality seems to be the only topic under discussion today. But what do we actually mean by equality, and what did the American Founders have in mind?This work is a history of ideas and at the same time a parallel study of social and political dimensions. The book should be of particular interest to public officials as well as commentators on contemporary issues and to educators at the college level.Prof. Penegar presents a composite picture of both historic and contemporary understandings of the ideal of equality and of the policy initiatives undertaken to advance the ideal over the same expanse of time.

About the Book

What do we mean by equality, in America, and how are we doing? This book outlines both historic and contemporary understandings of the ideal of equality, and it presents the major policy initiatives undertaken to advance the ideal over the same expanse of time.So much has been published in recent decades about inequality -- principally in economic terms -- that it seems timely to examine what it is that moves us to be concerned.From Rousseau to Martin Luther King Jr., significant individuals who authored the ideas, crucially supported them, or carried them into public policy are identified in the context of the eras in which they were active.The claim that we collectively care more about liberty than we do equality is implicit in the title of this book. Consider first that the Declaration of Independence claims that ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ are inalienable rights that stem from the endowment of reason. No mention of equality there, although a preceding phrase in the same paragraph does famously declare that we are ‘created equal.’Consider, secondly, that one (if not the very first) negative response in contemporary American political debate to a proposed extension of public assistance or raising the minimum wage is the argument that it will reduce liberty. The suggestion is direct: extending the one will reduce the other. They are competitors. That’s the claim.Prof. Penegar leads an insightful discussion of such commonly-held thoughts and investigates how accurate they are.

Table content

Introduction 5A Word about the Title 9Chapter One: How Rousseau Became Our Guide 30Chapter Two: Revolution 45Enlightenment’s Reach 45America’s Conflict with Great Britain 48The Content and Spirit of the Declaration 50Inclusive or Exclusive Coverage? 53Other Explanations for the Equality Clause 55The French Experience in the Eighteenth Century 58Legacies 62Chapter Three: Reaction 71Equality’s Shadow 71Chapter Four: The Juggernaut of Commerce 83Liberty’s Uncertain Landscape: Europe in the 1800s 97Chapter Five: Anxiety for the Individual 105J.S. Mill 105Herbert Spencer 111Chapter Six: Slavery’s Abolition 122A Network of Volunteers 134Uncle Tom’s Cabin 136President Lincoln’s Proclamation 139Chapter Seven: Reconstruction 146Chapter Eight: Populism’s Challenge to Exploitive Business 155 Chapter Nine: The Urban Soul of Progressivism 168 Chapter Ten:The Citizenship of Women 177Historic Antecedents 186A Boost from Outside the Circle of Women 190Relevant Parts of the Preamble and the Wording of Article 21: 194Preamble 194Article 21 195Chapter Eleven: Social Mobilization Confronts the Great Depression 196What would Rousseau think of the New Deal? 210 Chapter Twelve: Domestic Innovation and the New International Cooperation in the Wake of World War II 213 Chapter Thirteen: Cold War Divisions 231Background 231Civil Rights 239EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 241Health Care: Senior Citizens and (Some) Others 243Education 245Anti-poverty Programs 248Chapter Fourteen: Philosophy Needs History 253