Equality is about being treated the same. Political equality usually refers to people having the same value, rights or freedoms. This is seen in the democratic idea that every person gets one vote and only one vote. However, people disagree about what exactly equality is, and what kind of equality is most valuable. One important difference is between those who believe in equality of opportunity and those who want equality of outcome.

Equality of Opportunity
Equality of opportunity requires that each individual is treated the same according to the laws and rules of the community and/or state. It means nobody is unfairly discriminated against by the state/decision-makers, nor receives special treatment without good reason. In politics, equality of opportunity means that everyone has the same political opportunities. Everyone has the same opportunity to say what they think, everyone has the same opportunity to vote, and everyone has the same opportunity to run for office.

However, saying that a very rich, well-educated person and a very poor, uneducated person are politically equal may not be true in practice. It might be true when we talk about voting, but not always true when we talk about running for office. This is because the resources and opportunities that the rich person has are much greater than the poor person’s. For example, the rich person is more likely to be elected because of their resources (money for posters and speeches etc.) and opportunities (powerful friends, good education etc.).

Equality of Outcome
Equality of outcome means that people have similar access to important resources, such as income, education, and housing. Supporters of equality of outcome disagree that equality of opportunity is enough to make people politically equal. They claim that civil and political rights are not enough to achieve political equality. For example, a country might allow all adult citizens to vote.

However, if some citizens cannot read the voting form, the people will not all have equal opportunity to participate. In politics, equality of outcome means that everyone has the same opportunities and has access to the basic resources needed to take part in politics. Supporters of equality of outcome say that the government has a responsibility to give people the resources and opportunities (money, houses, education, jobs etc.) that they need to participate in politics. Equality of outcome is controversial because it requires governments to redistribute resources. Achieving equality of outcome means that more resources are given to disadvantaged groups (poorer people, disabled, marginalized groups etc.), which usually means taking those resources from richer people.

Discrimination and Affirmative Action
Discrimination means that some groups of people are treated differently than other people in a similar situation. People may be discriminated against because of their age, disability, ethnicity, political beliefs, race, religion, sex or gender, sexual orientation, language, culture or for many other reasons. Unfair discrimination means that those groups are treated worse than others. In countries where groups of people have been unfairly discriminated against in the past, governments have tried to promote equality by using “affirmative action”. Affirmative action is based on positive discrimination. This means making rules or policies that favour those groups that have been (or still are) discriminated against. Affirmative action takes place most often in employment or education, but can also be seen in politics.

Supporters of affirmative action programmes say that they are necessary to overcome the effects of past discrimination. They believe that strong action is necessary to achieve equality. They say that groups that have been unfairly treated for a long time need special help to get the same rights and opportunities as dominant groups.

People who oppose affirmative action say that it is also a form of unfair discrimination and that it interferes with people’s liberty. They argue that sex, colour, language or religion should not be used as a basis for choosing who gets opportunities in society. They say that if everybody gets equal opportunity, positive discrimination is not needed.