The New Egalitarianism

Abstract

The New Egalitarianism is a strain of thought that draws heavily on critical theory and structuralism, arguing that disparities between groups are due to systemic oppression. This article argues that implementing New Egalitarian ideals in practice would involve transforming morality into an obscurantist epistocracy. The New Egalitarianism is epistocratic in that it relies on the existence of moral experts to determine which actions perpetuate systemic oppression and which advance equality. It is obscurantist in that New Egalitarians tend to question the standing of critics rather than engaging with the substance of their criticism. I contrast these tendencies with a Hayekian view of social morality, arguing that implementing New Egalitarian ideas may run afoul of the moral requirements of an extended social order.

Keywords: Critical Theory, Egalitarianism, Identity, Social Morality