Bernie Sanders was stumped.
The question, posed by Bill Maher on a recent episode of his HBO show, was, “How would you differentiate between ‘equity’ and ‘equality’?”
“Well, equality we talk about —” Sanders broke off. “I don’t know what the answer to that is,” he admitted.
It’s understandable for an old-school democratic socialist to be a bit confused. The term “equity” has spread through left-liberal discourse with remarkable speed over the past decade or so, anointed as part of the “diversity, equity, and inclusion” triad, and taken up as a guiding principle in academia, the philanthropic world, social justice activism, much of corporate America, and now Democratic politics.
Yet its boundaries are blurry, and its exact meaning remains disputed. Is it about guaranteeing equal outcomes for everyone? Is it a “code word” for discriminating against white and Asian American people, as some conservatives claim? Does it mean anything at all?
Though Maher asserted to Sanders that equity means ensuring equal outcomes, relatively few who use the term would take it that far. But equity is indeed about trying to make group outcomes more equal than they are now. It signals a concern about disparities at all levels of society among demographic groups — especially groups historically disadvantaged because of race, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality.
Often, in social justice circles, equity is held up as a superior goal to mere “equality” — which may have contributed to Sanders’s confusion. With equality, everyone gets “the same thing,” but with equity, everyone gets “the things they deserve,” racial justice activist DeRay Mckesson has said.
This is meant by activists to draw a distinction from — and broadcast frustration with — past rhetoric and policies that sought “equal rights for all,” “equal treatment for all,” and “equality of opportunity.” That language, in activists’ view, represents the tepid…
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