THE CICAK.com

The myth of equality

By SALMAH HASHIM

Equality is that word which almost everyone holds dear. Regardless of which race, religion, creed or ideology you belong to, we all seek equality.

Equality is the holy grail of modern society. Much has been said about it, but no-one, no society has been able to achieve it.

A community can be as diverse as can be, or even consist of a singular race, and still inequality will prevail.

Let’s face it, people will always group together. First by race, and then within their races they will group by religion, within their religions they will group by castes, even within their castes they will group by status or lineage.

When groups exist, so does inequality. Each group is often more inclined to give opportunities to members of their own group. Each group would most likely help one of their own before even thinking of the welfare of the others.

Let’s say, for example, that you are a member of the dominant group and you have the responsibility of selecting an individual for a key position in your organisation. Between the two final candidates, one of which is from the dominant group and the other who is a minority, the minority seems to have better credentials. In an equal society where groups do not exist, you would choose the minority.

However in a world such as ours, who is to say that when elected to power, the minority will not elect one of his own to a key position, sidelining members of your own dominant group, much to their detriment?

People are insecure; they will often see things which may not necessarily be there. Inequality feeds off paranoia. That is why when certain groups achieve dominance within a society, they make sure that they maintain their control of that power, and if possible they will try to further their own interest off the backs of other groups.

Of course, every now and then the dominant group will secede some power or perhaps provide some sort of a boon to the minority, just to appease them, and to maintain their stay in power.

But to maintain that grip on power, they have to continue prioritising members of their own group over the others.

In the end, it’s a “better us than them” scenario.

Equality is a myth where everyone succeeds solely on merit, with no other influences on their bearing in life. It’s a situation where there exists no groups and everyone works together on an equal level to achieve the greater good.

Of course, there are a few of those within each group who hold equality close to their hearts. They believe that everyone deserves equal opportunity. These people will help out members of a different group if possible.

However these people do not realise that by helping out members of a different group, it will cause them to be sidelined by members of their own group. Furthermore, who is to say that the group that they helped will take them as one of their own in the future?

It’s a tricky matter. We can talk about equality, inequality, racism, caste systems, language barriers, social gaps and so on, but will it help us achieve this dream of true equality?

Perhaps a pessimist might say that it would be better if everyone in this world were of the same race and same belief, as there would be no conflicts and everything would be equal. But even in this scenario, everyone would be divided based on geographical location, as per territory, and maybe break down into smaller sub-divisions of tribes.

Let’s face it, total equality does not exist, not in this country, and definitely not anywhere else in the world. Your success in life depends on leveraging upon the strengths of your groups and, to a certain extent, learning what you can from other groups.

Even in the more developed countries, there exist groups and group-based associations to safeguard the interests of each group. In a truly equal society, such groups would not exist and participation in any organisation would be open to all.

I suppose I could take it another step further and say that standards and quotas breed inequality, but I digress.

But of course there are a few incidents of equality every now and then. However, it happens so rarely that equality can be said not to exist at all.

Equality is a dream that we can work towards but can never hope of achieving.
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SALMAH HASHIM is a contributing writer for theCICAK.

Salmah is a young-at-heart girl who believes the world is flawed but tolerable. She considers herself to be witty and loves it when people underestimate her because it puts their guard down.