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A question I have been interested in for some time is how we appraoch the ideology of equal opportunities.
There was a time when my opinions on the matter were fairly straightforward: equal opportunities were not the be all and end all, but they were a signficant thing worth fighting for while we are still living under capitalism. I still think that this view point is important - fighting for equal opportunities is undoubtedly important for those groups who tend to experience capitalist most acutely, ie women ethnicminorities, queers etc.
Yet there is another side to this. As a communist all inequality as illegiiamate - whether it is based on intelligence, sex, physical prowess, ethnicity or whatever. Meanwhile much of the politics surrounding the demands for equal opportunities (and meritocracy) seems to differntiate between legitimate inequality (ie that based on ability) and illegitimate inequality (ie that based on race, sex etc.). Arguably such a differentiation further entrenches the idea of mericocracy, it entrenches the notion the notion that 'ability' (to work the system) is a legitimate basis for inequality.
So what do people think?
how should socialists and communists approach the movement for equal opportunities?
Can there be a working class/socialist alternative to the ideology of equal opportunities and what form should it take?
This is an issue on which I am far from having made up my own mind.
Reuben
What do I think? I think you should get outside and hang out with some friends or meet some people. Start a garden, read a book, chat with a neighbor.
But to your point: I think we should work towards what is feasable. If we cannot keep total equality for every person all of the time, then there is no reason to work for it.
Umm... I think that meritocracy is better then other forms of discrimination. It is also a legitimate form in some places. Would you want person who could not drive driving your taxi?
I think that equal opportunity is something worth fighting for. But, only as a subset of a broader fight for a better non-capitalist society.
We should strive to make all peoples equal in all ways in which doing so is possible.
