Equality without justice becomes disorder; democracy without morality becomes anarchy.
- Both seek freedom, yet without wisdom and restraint, that freedom turns into chaos.
Noor Muhammad Marri, Advocate | Islamabad
Human beings have always dreamed of equality. From ancient philosophies to modern constitutions, the ideal of equal rights has been the foundation of revolutions and democracies throughout history. Yet behind this beautiful idea lies a profound contradiction: equality, in its purest form, is in fact a kind of anarchy.
Anarchy means a state where no one holds authority over another, where all are free and none are superior or subordinate. When everyone is equal, the very idea of control disappears. In this sense, equality itself denies order. The world of sovereign nations actually lives in this condition of anarchy — no single power governs all. Each state acts according to its own interests and choices. International law exists, but no supreme authority enforces it. Thus, equality among nations mirrors the anarchy among individuals — a world of freedom without a governing hand.
Democracy is the political expression of this philosophy. It rests on the belief that all human beings are equal in reason, wisdom, and judgment, and therefore deserve an equal voice in the decisions of the state. Yet this assumption is against nature. Nature has never created equals. Human beings differ in intellect, virtue, vision, and capacity. To treat them all as identical is not equality — it is illusion: equality among unequal.
Democracy tries to organize this illusion. It seeks to turn anarchy into order through consent. In theory, the ruler and the ruled become one. The people appear to govern themselves; yet, in practice, power often falls into the hands of those who can deceive, manipulate, and control public opinion. Plato warned that when equality ignores the natural differences among people, democracy decays into the rule of mediocrity — or worse, the tyranny of the clever.
Within democracy, therefore, the seed of anarchy always lives. Its equality is moral in intention but artificial in reality. It gives every person a vote but not the same wisdom. The wise and the ignorant, the virtuous and the corrupt — all stand on one line. And so, power often belongs not to the best, but to the loudest and the shrewdest.
Equality without justice becomes disorder; democracy without morality becomes anarchy. Both seek freedom, yet without wisdom and restraint, that freedom turns into chaos.
Equality, therefore, must not mean sameness. It should mean fairness — not the destruction of hierarchy, but its humanization. When equality is misunderstood as uniformity, humanity rebels against nature itself. And every rebellion against nature ends in confusion.
Thus, the modern dream of equality reminds us of an ancient truth: every vision of perfect equality is haunted by the shadow of anarchy.
Read: Institutional disillusionment and Future of America
__________________
Noor Muhammad Marri is a Lawyer and Mediator based in Islamabad.
