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egalitarianism

(20th century)

Principle for guiding treatment of individuals.

A preliminary assumption that all people should, in the absence of good reason to the contrary, be treated equally. Thus the onus is on those who argue that sex should be a disqualification to a career, or that poverty should be a barrier to the provision of education, to prove their case, rather than vice versa.

Source:
David Miller et al., eds, The Blackwell Dictionary of Political Thought (Oxford, 1987)

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