Where is equality taking us?

Its the Titanic all over again! Going too fast and not looking where you are going means heading for a crash!. The general political assumption that an equal society is a good society is a case of the devious leading the blind. Look out! Equality is a bad thing, a wolf in sheep's clothing if ever there was one. The beauty and success of modern society lies in the differences inherent in that society which enables the "Division of Labour". It is in the dividing up of jobs so that the individual can become skilled in his or her chosen profession (and therefore much more productive), while leaving other essential jobs to other individuals with different skills. This has multiplied our productive capacity many thousands of times. Equality if applied, instead of the division of labour, would take us back to the stone age with each individual being a jack of all trades and master of none. Some of these jobs are more difficult than others so we need different levels of incentive. Without incentive nobody would do the more difficult, dangerous, or responsible, jobs so different levels of incentive are here to stay. What ever your judgement over the reasonableness of the pay for any particular job, the only value that matters is the one that works, and this one is not set by committees or by managers but by natural equilibrium. When there are not enough mechanics, the pay for mechanics rises until the balance is restored. What is known as market forces. Politicians try to use what is called social engineering ostensibly to make society fairer, i.e. more equal, but it is the differences that provide the incentive to drive society forward. Take away the difference incentive and society will grind to a halt. Its when politicians try to beat the natural equilibrium of the market, that, for the most part, they simply make things worse. The equilibrium being the natural balance point you have to add some weight to change it. And adding unnecessary weight is inefficient. Now for us, the general public, the manoeuvres of the levers of power are hidden by their complexity. Instead we are offered propaganda composed of Buzz words and sound bytes. And one of these buzz words is "equality" which sounds good if you are jealous of your neighbour. It sounds as if you are going to get his benefits without having to have his skills. But its only a sprat to catch a mackerel and if you believe it you are hooked. In this world most of us get a push start. but after that you only get out in proportion to what you put in. Yes I know the proportions are seldom fair, but that's the luck of the draw. We need a bit of excitement. The concept of equality is limiting. There is no choice in equality. Only one value can be equal. To have a choice you must have different values to choose from. An equal society is not then a free society. It is, in fact, the authoritative society described in Orwell's 1984. Is that what you really want? I did not think so. So next time a politician talks about things being equal, about equal pay, and equal opportunity or a free lunch, just remember the one thing he is not offering you is choice. Its just a sprat to get you hooked, Then, without any other choice, you will just have to do what you are told. Roy Miller PS. Note From U3A NIACE Précis "Independence is a forgotten virtue. Breeding dependence is not good for individuals or society"