It is fairly easy to come up with a working definition of “equality”: treating similar things similarly. The issue is with the application. To what extent are different people similar, and thus entitled to identical treatment by the state?
There are two ways to look at the issue. In a religious sense, every soul has the same value to God; hence, the similarities among people outweigh any genetic differences. This approach is found in the Declaration of Independence and is the foundation for American liberal democracy. Jefferson said it was “self-evident.” But it isn’t; if you look at physical, mental, and emotional characteristics of individuals instead of souls, you may well be more impressed by the level of difference than the similarities.
In a state of nature, or at least of a primitive state, equality doesn’t exist. Equality is not a typical attribute of families, tribes, or feudal states. Enforcing equality requires action on the part of the state–even states that we would consider, by modern standards, to be fairly minimal. How that works will be the topic of my next post on the subject.