The French national motto is: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity).
That seems like a pretty good thing on which to found a society.
When we talk about liberty, we’re talking about being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority—on how we live, behave, or think politically. That sounds pretty amazing. I mean, really, who wouldn’t want that? And the next one is just as cool. Égalité. Having equal access to status, rights, and opportunities. Is it just me, or does this keep getting better and better? And finally, we have fraternity. Most people probably associate that word with raucous college boys and out-of-control Animal House parties. But what we’re really talking about here is something much more important: a feeling of friendship and mutual support within a group.
Freedom from oppression, equal access to opportunity, friendship and mutual support. Hey, wait a minute… that can’t possibly be legal, right? Am I walking dangerously close to heresy?
One would reasonably think that these are common-sense ideas. That, of course, societies would be built on such principles. But are they really?
When we talk about liberty, we’re talking about the idea that people should be free to live their lives as they choose—as long as they’re not infringing upon the rights of others to do the same. And it seems fairly obvious that curtailing this freedom doesn’t just make for a less healthy society, but for less healthy individuals within that society. It’s hard to imagine why depriving people of liberty would ever be desirable.
Some argue that it’s necessary for safety and security—and there may be some truth to that. I recently wrote essays about herding cats and Plato’s Republic. In both, I explored the idea that people may need a certain amount of structure in order to live together in relative harmony. But surely there’s a model where we can live together harmoniously without having our liberties steadily chipped away.
This is, of course, a topic for many more essays to come. But I’ll leave the idea of liberty with just one thought: when we take liberty from someone, we take the wind from their sails. We make them less inspired, less motivated, and less inclined to participate positively in society. And that certainly can’t be a good thing.
Now on to equality. Or perhaps, in its place, I’ll insert the word egality. I think this term rings truer to the idea at hand—and I really love it, because it isn’t quite the same as equality.
Equality suggests that everyone gets the same things, in the same amounts. I’ve written more than once about the nonsense of that idea. People are endowed with different gifts and abilities and can never contribute or accomplish the exact same amount. It’s also important that the idea of merit not be discarded in these conversations. If someone has more to give, they should be encouraged—and rewarded—to give more.
But by the same token, those who have less to give should not fall through the cracks.
Egality, as I see it, means that everyone is given the opportunity to thrive to the best of their ability. That there is nothing in society, or in the system itself, that stands in the way of someone making the most of their gifts. And what could be more beautiful than that? To be free in the world to go as far as your abilities can take you.
And finally, we have fraternity.
Fraternity inspires the idea of community. It encourages us to work for the betterment of something bigger than ourselves, to support one another, to show up when someone stumbles. Some might even argue that this sense of belonging and mutual care is a basic human right.
When we put these three ideas together, we end up at a rather compelling model for a functional society. Of course, the challenge lies in implementing such principles wisely and judiciously. Anytime you gather people together, complexity and conflict are inevitable.
But if we don’t even try to build the best society possible, we’re cheating ourselves, each other, and future generations. I certainly don’t have the answers to life’s biggest questions—but liberty, egality, and fraternity seem like a pretty good place to start.
Join us in making the world a better place. You’ll be glad that you did.
Cheers, friends.