Liberalism once believed in hierarchy, that certain people were better at things than other people. That included individuals, races, sexes and social classes. It did not believe in equality and it took until after WWII for this idea to become mainstream within Liberalism.
Today we have lived for 50 years or so with the idea of equality. We are told about it constantly, we cannot escape its influence. Which convinces many that the idea must be true, that there really is no difference between different people. Even though we learn through experience that different people are, well, different. We hear the word so often that we rarely think about what the word even means. For something or someone to be equal means that they are the same as something or someone else.
All apples are equal because all apples are the same, which at first glance seems reasonable but isn’t.
Is a big apple the same as a small apple?
Is a rotten apple the same as a fresh apple?
Is a green apple the same as a red apple?
And on it goes, the idea of equality is accepted because it is so easy to understand. If everyone is the same then we can pretend that any problems that exist can be fixed and that they are not unsolvable, that differences between races or the sexes are minor inconveniences. All that needs to be done is to remove official differences between groups and to remind people, constantly, that we are all equal and in time everything will fix itself. Because at the heart of this idea is that these differences are artificial and not real.
For half a century or more these ideas have been pushed and instead of differences vanishing they are persistent. The differences between the sexes are still here, the difference between races are still here. The thing that was supposed to happen has not taken place. Laws were changed, social attitudes were changed, the law was moved in favour of these groups, massive amounts of money have been spent and still the differences remain. Liberals are now left with a question that continues to grow in size and that is why?
Why haven’t things changed?
The first thing to remember is that their basic assumptions have not changed, people are equal, equality is a real thing. So something else must be to blame and their answer is Structural Racism. They also call it Systematic or Institutional racism. Which effectively means that society is at heart racist, both the people and the institutions. Built into the foundations is racism. Which is why White Supremacy is so much of an issue to Liberals.
Of course ordinary people are confused by this as it doesn’t make sense. How can it be that the more society has turned against racism, it has became more racist?
Well it can’t, the entire idea is ridiculous.
But the only other place that Liberalism can go is to admit that equality is not real. That different people are in fact different. Which they are not prepared to accept. But when you hear the words White Supremacy, Structural Racism, Systematic Racism or Institutional Racism, Liberalism is trying to use these terms to square a circle of its own making…and failing.
Originally published at Upon Hope. You can find Mark’s Subscribestar here.
