The Roots of Equity and Equality: A Conversation with Teresa Bejan

Summary

The ideas of equity and equality are all over the news, yet there seems to be little agreement on what exactly each term means. Political theorist and intellectual historian Teresa Bejan of Oriel College, Oxford discusses the origins of our notions of equality, from the Roman Empire to the present, focusing particularly on Early Modernity and the influence of the French Revolution and the English political movements like the Levellers, Diggers, and Quakers. Along the way, she uncovers the surprising facts like the relationship between equality and hierarchy, and that Marx was not as pro-equality as popularly believed.

Her recent 3-part Charles E. Test lecture series for the Madison Program, “First Among Equals

Her book Mere Civility: Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration (Harvard UP, 2019).

Annika Nordquist is the Communications Coordinator of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and host of the Program’s podcast, Madison’s Notes.

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Annika Nordquist

Annika Nordquist is the Communications Coordinator of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions and host of the Program’s podcast, Madison’s Notes. She graduated from Stanford University in 2021, where she studied Classics and Linguistics. She was also Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Review and a member of the varsity fencing team. Previously, she was a Research Assistant in Education Policy at the American Enterprise Institute.

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