Question

2. The Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." The American philosopher Isaiah Berlin said that "every man to count for one and no one to count for more than one". appears, more than any other formula, to constitute the irreducible minimum of the ideal of equality."* Do you agree or disagree with this idea? Explain your position. 93k

Answer 1

Based on the Declaration of Independence and on the words of Isaiah Berlin, I can say that I agree that both statements “constitute the irreducible minimum of the ideal of equality”. On the first statement from the Declaration of Independence, we can see that when it says “all men are created equal” it is including minorities groups that are usually discriminated against due to race, gender or nationality. Basically, it states that all people are equal and should not be discriminated on the basis of race, gender or nationality.  

On the second statement by philosopher Berlin, the focus is not only on the fact that one man should count as one but also it highlights that no men should be counted as more than one. Here, Berlin wants to indicate that of you are rich and powerful; you are still only one person and cannot be thought of as more worthy than the rest.

To sum up both concepts mention that all men are created equal, the first one focusing on no discrimination against minority groups; and the second one focusing on no power abuse.