Which is more important: Freedom or Equality?

"If given complete freedom, people will 99.9% of the time act more in their self-interest and the common good will never be achieved (this is the opinion held by almost all political philosophers and sociologist - think about the Prisoner's Dilemma)." Are you aware that 90% of all statistics are made up on the spot? Seriously, your claim is completely bogus. Clearly you've never heard of John Locke. Frankly, you're using bizarre and unclear definitions of freedom and equality. You're speaking of freedom as anarchy as though the two are interchangeable. They are related, but not the same. Equality is a different beast entirely. People are not all equal. Some are stronger, some faster, some smarter, some more talented, etc. Laws can't change that. Unless you are using another odd definition of equality, your issue is just... bleh.

Augh, mylot ate my response. The question isn't which one has more important or has more value, it's a question of how you go about things and in what order. Usually, you can't have any semblance of equality without freedom in the first place...or else, it becomes less worth it. But then, freedom without any semblance of equality tends to erase the people's ability to pursue their on happiness, which ends up actually making you less free. The truth is, they have to both be sought after and tempered with compassion and wisdom. You need to strive for both. Since not everyone will work toward the same sort of things, it requires self-sacrifice and often guidance (or at times, hinderance) as things naturally progress in a free society. This is how it should be. Neither has more value, or is more important, because they're pretty symbiotic by nature. Equality, at its best, is supposed to be a progression toward everyone having the same amount of liberties. It's not CONSTANTLY purely a tenet of socialistic values, especially when it has freedom as its partner in a society. I'm not saying its perfect... ...the best things never are.

Hello Katran, I cannot begin to express how pleased I am that you have posed this question. Of course you're absolutely correct -- people do not contemplate this important question nearly enough, if at all. Allow me to piercingly answer your question before elaborating: Which is more important? Freedom trumps equality everytime!!! Why? Because equality is a fallacy -- pure and simple! Never in the history of mankind have any two Human Beings been genuinely 'equal', nor shall any two (or more) beings ever achieve true equality. For always: there will be differences based on the decisions made out of Free Will. As long as Man has Free Will, equality will be an illusive little carrot that we silly Humans run in circles around an illusive little track, with the greatest hopes of capturing. In the words of Max Ehrmann in "Desiderata": "For always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself..." Perhaps the 'greater' relates to more ambitious, more committed, or more dedicated. Regardless, without question there will always be inequality based on Freedom of Choice. To your point that selfishness trumps philanthropy: Your supposition fails to consider that philanthropy brings its own reward -- the benefit of feeling good by, for, or about helping others. Unfortunately, Sociologists try so diligently to consider themselves Scientists (where Philosophers are that much more fierce in attempting to prove themselves relevant), that they fail to take into account the fact that their field of 'science' attempts to measure man's reactions to biologic, environmental, or societal shifts. When in fact, they fail to recognize that there is nothing 'scientific' about the Human condition, or its set of reactions to stimuli. Release those same Sociologists into a 'philanthropic' missionary environment, where people selfishly benefit from selflessness, and their sociological findings will be vastly different! In summary, your question pre-supposes that there might possibly be true equality. Alas, two thousand years (plus) of history disputes that basic premise. Freedom is the underlying drive of the Human species. Equality never enters into the picture of our natural condition! As for your supposition that government is authorized or entitled to "coerce" people into acting in the "common good": that is little more than your perception of the role of government. Quite to the contrary, my perception of the role of goverment is that it is an inanimate body which functions of, by, and for The People, based on the limited auspices defined by those Free people. In other words, governments have zero power unless it is granted by free beings!!!!!!!!!!!! If this seems foreign, please consider for a moment: What power does any government have if We The People don't recognize that particular government? In other words, if We The People do not surrender to that government the power to control our actions, then that government is powerless. Far too many people have forgotten this basic premise: Over the course of our species' history there have been in existence a nearly identical set of underlying rules to live by, or govern with. Regardless of location or societal specifics, those underlying 'rules' tend to follow a similar pattern as The Golden Rule, the Ten Commandments or the ancient Rede of Three. In other words: The decision to allow ourselves to be coerced into 'goodness' has always had everything to do with spirit and spirituality and nothing to do with secular governance.

id rather choose equality. bcoz all of us is all on the same ground. no one is on top or at the bottom. and for sure all of us will work together for the better.

By your definition equality. But there needs to be balance not one over the other. I do admit most people we encounter will most likely do a self interest instead as oppose to the common good. So Equality is more important since no one wants to have the disadvantage or the short end of the stick.

America is supposed to be about freedom. I feel that's what is most important. "Life's not Fair", never has been never will be. Everyone should have their freedom.