Egalitarianism
Etymology
From French égal, “equal,” from Latin aequalis, “even, level.” The French Revolution’s ideal of égalité gave the root its charge, and the English -ism took shape in the nineteenth century. Its meaning splits along a well-known line: equality of opportunity versus equality of outcome, a distinction that fuels much of the argument the word names.
noun · /ih-gal-ih-TAIR-ee-uh-niz-um/
The belief that people are fundamentally equal and should have equal rights, standing, or access to resources and opportunity.
What it names
The value at stake whenever a debate turns on what “treating people equally” should actually mean — before the details of how to achieve it.
Example
Their egalitarianism agreed that no one should start life at a disadvantage, but not on how far the state should go to fix it.
Related idea
Meritocracy holds that rewards should track ability and effort; strict egalitarianism is wary of the unequal outcomes a meritocracy produces.