Abstract

A spectre haunts the industrialized world—the spectre of egalitarianism. Demands to equalize the First and Third Worlds or to reduce needs to bring about social equality are articulated by movements and theories which keep “social equality” on the agenda. But, as we will try to show, a consistently implemented egalitarianism is a myth. All attempts to realize it as a general principle of social organization in a context of even minimal industrialization lead to a decline of wealth. Yet, recurring egalitarian tendencies constitute an indispensable social monitoring system. They always point to concrete inequalities that threaten to become permanent and therefore must be opposed.