Many people argue in this way: The 1964 Civil Rights Act was fine. No one should be discriminated against because of his race or sex. Because blacks and women have suffered such discrimination in the past, it may be that programs like affirmative action are justified, at least temporarily. However, the purpose of these programs should be to promote equality of opportunity. Everybody deserves an equal chance to live a good life or, at any rate, a fair chance.
The problem that has arisen since the passage of the 1964 act, it is further alleged, is that “equality of outcomes or results” has come to replace “equality of opportunity.” This is a socialistic measure that is incompatible with the free market. In short—equality of opportunity, good; equality of results, bad. People who say this differ in the extent to which government intervention is needed to bring about equality of opportunity, with “conservatives” favoring much less intervention than “liberals.” Libertarians, from this perspective, would be those who think that little or no such intervention is needed.Clear, JamesBest Price: $5.25Buy New $9.26(as of 10:30 UTC – Details)
In a column published by the Hoover Institution, David Davenport gives a good statement of this position:
One end of the spectrum is traditional equality of opportunity as envisioned and embraced by the founders. In this view, men and women are created equal and therefore have equal rights, especially political and legal rights. From that starting point, people are free to make their own choices on how, as the Declaration of Independence put it, to pursue happiness. Guaranteeing individual rights, so that people are free to choose, is the primary role of government in this traditional view of equality of opportunity. Paring back the role of government regulation in people’s lives, reducing taxes, and promoting individual freedom was President Reagan’s path back toward this more traditional view and many conservatives still advocate this today.
From a Rothbardian standpoint, it must be said that this way of looking at things is entirely mistaken. People in a libertarian society own themselves and their legitimately acquired property, no more and no less. Everyone has these rights, and in this sense, it is permissible to say that people have equal rights, but to avoid confusion, it is better to say that everyone has the same rights. These rights emphatically do not include the “rights” to equal opportunity or equal results. They emphatically include the right to discriminate against others on grounds of race or sex.
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