March of Equality

Down through the history of mankind there has been a progressive dismantling of hierarchy. In modern western society particularly, position has become less dependent on birthright and privelage. Modern men (and women) fully believe that they are members of a meritocracy in which effort and skill are rewarded with prestige and power; they are often vindicated in that belief. There is a certain trend to be observed though, one that archs back through centuries and whose outcome might still be centuries ahead. From aristocracy humanity has moved to meritocracy. But in a meritocracy are human beings not still bound by the limitations present and inescapable by the condition of their birth? The conditions of birth still hold undeniable sway over the lives of men; there has merely been a shift from class to ability. True equality would mean equality not only in opportunity but also in power both physical and mental. Will Meritocracy give way to something more equitable?

Is such equality possible? It is certainly not unthinkable. The mere description evokes images of Albert Huxley's Brave New World, wherein genetic engineering is used to fashion each successive generation, albeit in an explicit hierarchy rather than a mass of equals. The advent of human mastery over genetics could herald an era in which physical and mental advantages are either tapped to bestow an arguably unnatural level of skill and prowess onto those whose parents or benefactors can afford the cost, or they could be removed in order to ensure that the tyranny of talent never reigns again.

Is such equality desirable? That answer is surely dependent on who is questioned. How could a man who was born with undesirable genetic factors not desire a certain levelling of life's playing field? How could a person on the advantageous side of the gene pool not desire a maintenance of his superiority? True, it can be said that if every person is equally talented and skilled, then no one is truly talented or skilled. The exceptional is by definition apart from the huddled masses. But who could expect those masses to accept their generic existence if the possibility arises for them to ascend it? Hero worship surely only extends so far as the worshiper is unable to become a hero himself.

If the foray into genetics does result in some revolution of human existence, then it can be expected that calls for equality will come long after the first inception of the technology. More than likely the wealthy will benefit first and foremost, with the mob achieving a measure of success after long and protracted battles against the more powerful minority. So if a prediction is to be made it is this: genetic engineering will vastly widen the gap between the affluent and the desperate until a certain point at which the gap will disappear entirely. What happens then is impossible to discern (for me at least).