1. Political Realities vs. Political Ideals

2. Political ideals – the perfect society Can you think of some political ideals? Free healthcare? Free education? Opportunities for everyone? Peace?

3. Political Realities – the problems that prevent us from achieving a perfect society, or that make improving society difficult Can you think of some? Human nature? Early conflict? Injustice? Environment?

4. Equality? What is equality?

5. Three ways to think about equality 1.Equality of Rights 2.Equality of Opportunities 3.Equality of Results 1+2=3 How?

6. Equality of rights Equality before the law Men and women treated the same in the eyes of the law People not discriminated against because of race, religion, orientation etc.

7. Equality of opportunities Equality to pursue one’s dreams - equality of opportunity means that if two people have the same amount of ability, they should be able to achieve the same dreams

8. Equality of results An equal society should reflect equality - similar numbers of men and women in power - representative numbers of different cultures represented in leadership

9. 1) Equality of Rights This is the easiest step (but not easy) + 2) Equality of Opportunities = Equality of Results (no society has achieved equality perfectly)

10. Quiz Question: What kind of equality is this? boys and girls should both receive a primary and secondary education Answer: Equality of rights

11. Quiz Question: What kind of equality is this? Students from the countryside perform as well as students from the city on the college entrance test Answer: Equality of results

12. Quiz Question: What kind of equality is this? This society offers special scholarships to poor students so that they can attend university Answer: Equality of opportunity

13. Quiz Question: Can one have equality of results without equality of opportunity? Answer: Probably not, but many communist regimes have tried this.

14. Quiz Question: What’s wrong with this society? Group A makes up 4% of a population. But Group A makes up 25% of the prisoners in that society, even though the law doesn’t discriminate against them. Answer: Likely a problem of equality of opportunity. This country is Canada. The group is first Canadians.

15. Quiz Question: Can a society have equality of rights without equality of opportunities? Answer: Yes. In the US, with a black President (well, mixed), 1 in 6 black men have been put in prison. http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet

16. Quiz Question: If a society has both equality of rights and opportunities, then it’s likely the society has equality of results as well. Answer: Yes