Egalitarianism or dominance hierarchy

We in the United States of America look proudly to our Declaration of Independence, which states that all men (persons) are created equal. And that is the definition of egalitarianism. However, as a nation we have moved steadily in the direction of being a dominance hierarchy. In this new social order social relations are ordered according to power and wealth that comes with power. Whereas, an egalitarian society is based on fairness and individual needs, particularly regarding human dignity.

Since restorative justice is based on the idea of building and maintaining positive and caring relationships, let's look at these two dimensions from that perspective. In the dominance hierarchy social order relationships are based on power and fear. Conversely in an egalitarian society relationships are based on social obligations, equality, and cooperation.

If restorative justice is to become part of the mainstream of American life, then society needs to move along the continuum from being a dominance hierarchy to a more egalitarian society. Hopefully, that is the fundamental change that President Barack Obama and others in the Democratic party support. At the present moment we are suffering from the negative economic and social impacts of a social order based on dominance hierarchy. We need to admit this is a failed ideology when it comes to creating a new social order of relationships based on equality rather than suffering the negative impacts of inequality.

I encourage you to read The Impact of Inequality by Richard Wilkinson to learn more about these ideas.