The Absurdity of the Equality Act

What is the Equality Act, and how will it impact believers living out their Christian convictions? More importantly, what is equality and why does it matter? Should we really strive for equal outcomes across the board? Join us as we discuss these issues with SES alum and President of CrossExamined.org, Dr. Frank Turek.

Equality or Equity?

Dr. Turek makes a sharp distinction between the laudable goal of equality of opportunity vs. the disordered goal of equity of outcome. While the two may sound similar, they are worlds apart ideologically as well as practically. Equality of opportunity is a noble goal, appropriate in a free society that embraces the tenets of natural law ethics, whereas equity of outcome is not only ignoble, but also impossible.

Thomas Sowell has remarked that no society in the history of the world has been able to effect equal outcomes for all individuals, not because of tragic flaws in what were otherwise idyllic exemplars of societal engineering, but due to the inherent and unalterable fact of human nature. Dr. Turek explains:

“In a world where you have different gifts, different circumstances, different motivations, people are not going to wind up in the same place. In fact, they’re not even going to wind up in the same place in heaven. Because there are so many different factors that go into equality of outcome, that to try to force equality of outcome is not something you’re going to get in this life, and it’s not even something you’re going to get in the next life.”

Equality of opportunity honors human nature as well as human dignity, whereas the attempt to mandate equity of outcome is a functional war on justice.

Fighting Oppression with Oppression?

The dogged push for equity of outcome is driven by the engine of critical theory, which divides everyone into either one of two categories: oppressor or oppressed. Perceived through the lens of this Hobbesian phantasm, life is a vicious power struggle and zero-sum game where someone is always winning because someone else is losing. Dr. Turek helps us to see the irony in saying one is fighting oppression by becoming an oppressor oneself, as well as the hollowness of a worldview that must build its ostensible utopia on top of those it must first subjugate.

Don’t miss the full interview with Dr. Frank Turek, and if you’re ready to examine your faith intellectually and give reasons for your hope in Christ, consider SES by downloading our free e-book at the link below.