In recent years, there has been growing interest in the relationship between equality
and personal achievement. Some people believe that individuals can achieve more in
egalitarian societies. Others believe that high levels of personal achievement are
possible only if individuals are free to succeed or fail according to their individual
merits.
What is your view of the relationship between equality and personal success?
In my opinion, an egalitarian society is one in which everyone
has the same rights and the same
opportunities. I completely agree that people can achieve more
in this kind of society.
Education is an important factor with regard to personal success in life.
I believe that all children
should have access to free schooling, and higher education should be
either free or affordable for
all those who chose to pursue a university degree. In a society without free schooling or
affordable higher education, only children and young adults
from wealthier families would have
access to the best learning opportunities, and they would therefore
be better prepared for the job
market. This kind of inequality would ensure the success of
some but harm the prospects of others.
I would argue that equal rights and opportunities are not in
conflict with people’s freedom to
succeed or fail. In other words, equality does not mean that
people lose their motivation to
succeed, or that they are not allowed to fail. On the contrary,
I believe that most people would
feel more motivated to work hard and reach their potential if
they thought that they lived in a fair
society. Those who did not make the same effort would know that they had wasted their
opportunity. Inequality, on the other hand, would be more
likely to demotivate people because
they would know that the odds of success were stacked in favour of
those from privileged backgrounds.
In conclusion, it seems to me that there is a positive relationship
between equality and personal success.