Home / Political objections / Egalitarianism and prioritarianism
"Equality is among human citizens; animals belong to another category."
Egalitarianism and prioritarianism: the principle
Reduce unjust inequalities and give priority to those who are worst off.
Why excluding animals contradicts the principle
- If priority goes to the worst off, animals in intensive farming and many wild animals are among the worst-off beings there are.
- That inequality between species is natural does not make it just: egalitarianism fights precisely the disadvantages no one chose.
- Excluding animals is deciding in advance who can be worst off, which contradicts the principle.
The strongest counter-reply
The most serious version says the relevant equality is equality of political status, which only makes sense among members of a society.
The answer
Even if political status is discussed separately, priority to the worst off refers to well-being, and an animal's well-being can go badly. Among theories that disagree on almost everything, this is a point of convergence.
See also
A21 I respect animals, but humans come firstJ6 There are more important human problems.A10 They're just animals.