If everyone was equal in every way, would we be living in communist society?

Question

Most people believe that America is a land of opportunity, yet it is still unequal. When people say "unequal", they mean that everyone is not making the same amonut of money or that there are homeless people on the streets.Now would eveyone be living in a ccommunist society? History has shown us that communism does not work. How would you set up your government system, how would everyone be equal

Answer 1

In most respects, people *are not* equal, and never will be: everyone is, after all, an individual. Unique. Thus, some people are short, others tall. Some people have good senses of humor, others don't. Some people can do division in their heads, etc.

These differences--these inequalities--make some people better suited to do certain things than others. They will have different strengths and weaknesses, and produce different results. The person with the better sense of humor may be better suited at making friends. That person might wind up with more friends than most people. The person who can do division in his head might wind up making more money. It's impossible to know who will wind up with what, but the point is that their inequal talents and abilities will produce inequal results. It's a natural thing, not a creation of America or capitalism or anything like that.

Communism tries to make certain that everyone winds up with the same results, economically--that the person who can do division and the person who can't make the same money. Unfortunately, trying to make this happen 1) tends to involve forcing people to do things they don't want to do and 2) tends to destroy economy, making everyone poorer in the end. The reasons why are too much to go into here, but available if you study it.

America's answer, usually, is not to try to force people to equal results, but to treat everyone equally under the law. All the country can do is to try to *treat* everyone the same, and let the chips fall where they may. That's what America means by "equality." It's not "equal opportunity"; it's "equal opportunity under the law."

Given that people have natural differences, I think that this is the ideal approach. Do not force people to be the same--allow them to be different. This will mean that some will achieve friends while others don't, and some will make lots of money while others are poor. I'm comfortable with that, and I think it's preferable to the horrors that forcing people to be the same always produces. For another examination of this question, I suggest you read Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron." It's good.

Finally, to answer your subject question, if everyone was naturally equal (everyone had the exact same skill at division), then, yes: I believe that our lives would resemble communism. But the point is, we're not equal in *any* way, and therefore communism does bad, unnatural things to our society. The only way we ought to be equal, politically, is to be treated equally under the law.

Answer 2

People will never be equal. Some people are better at some things than others. Some people are virtuous, some people are criminals. Some people are industrious, and some are lazy.

What a system should provide is equality of opportunity. we should all be treated equally, but that certainly doesn't make us equal. Is it unfair because one person can play a sport, or a musical instrument better than another? That's life. The only think a government can do to make people equal is to hold everyone down to the lowest level. Does that sound fair to you?

Everyone should be free to compete. That is the fairest system. Equality of opportunity.

Answer 3

No, you would be living in Utopia. True equality of th ekind you are thinking of can never exist, because there will always be winners and losers.

Unequal does not necessarily mean the same money, but rather the same opportunity. You cannot honestly pretend to believe that EVERY single person born in your country has EXACTLY the same opportunity. That doesn't happen anywhere.

Answer 4

Ya know...a lot of people want to be treated equal, and paid equal, but they don't want to work equal.

You're not going to pay the greeter at Wal-Mart the same as a company CEO or as a doctor that saves lives. Therefore the best we can shoot for is helping ensure everyone has equal OPPORTUNTIY to work toward the level they want to reach with regard to their career...and equal opportunity for a good education to help get them there.

Whether or not they choose to take advantage of these things, is up to the individual...some will work hard to reach their goals...others feel entitled, and that's not the way it works.

Answer 5

I would set it up so that every person has an equal opportunity. That doesn't mean that everyone will jump at the chances they are offered; some are too lazy, but then again there are some who make use of opportunity and better themselves.

Answer 6

Communism as we understand it in the US, is actually an economic model. Had Communism overseas not been accompanied by harsh and brutal dictators, it may have worked. The hippie communes (some of which are still around) are actually communistic societies. They give the community what they can, and take what they need (see Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged).

As with the other answerers, I agree that we all are not equal, but that our opportunities are almost equal. You can't sling a dead cat without hitting someone who has raised himself/herself by their bootstraps: risen about the drugs, the violence, the searing poverty, no running water, poor education, absent parents, etc. If there is one Gonzales (former Mayor of San Antonio, Texas), one Calrence Thomas (Supreme Court Justice), one Condi Rice (Sec. of State), then there can be others.

Answer 7

Any form of government is capable of functioning, which the form of goverment is more of a preference. What determines whether or not the form of government is successful is the leadership elected to run the government. If a goverment is mismanaged, how can it run successfully?

The only history that has shown that communism does not work is the history of the victor. The victor decides history, it doesn't matter whether or not if it is right or wrong. If Hitler had succeded, we would be worshipping him like a demi-god.

Answer 8

Some are always a little more equal than others.
The best you can do is try to give everyone equal opportunity.

Answer 9

Under the Constitution, everyone is equal
in USA. Not even in Heaven itself is
everyone equal. For there are always
those greater or lesser than yourself.

Answer 10

I do not believe that bullcrap about all men are created equal. No man is my equal. Some are better most are worse.