Equal access
does not guarantee equal outcomes, invariably determined by
idiosyncrasies and differences between people. Access leveraged by the
application of natural or acquired capacities - translates into accrued
wealth. Disparities in these capacities lead to discrepancies in
accrued wealth.
The doctrine of equal access is founded on the equivalence of Men. That
all men are created equal and deserve the same respect and, therefore,
equal treatment is not self evident. European aristocracy well into
this century would have probably found this notion abhorrent. Jose
Ortega Y Gasset, writing in the 1930's, preached that access to
educational and economic opportunities should be premised on one's
lineage, up bringing, wealth, and social responsibilities.
A succession of societies and cultures discriminated against the
ignorant, criminals, atheists, females, homosexuals, members of ethnic,
religious, or racial groups, the old, the immigrant, and the poor.
Communism - ostensibly a strict egalitarian idea - foundered because it
failed to reconcile strict equality with economic and psychological
realities within an impatient timetable.
Philosophers tried to specify a "bundle" or "package" of goods,
services, and intangibles (like information, or skills, or knowledge).
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