I was unsurprised to learn of the patient’s struggles in comprehending the precise meaning of “equity.” The difficulty proceeds from his default to reason, presuming that the term is meant to have a commonly held meaning.
Kindly instruct the patient that equity is a remarkably elastic tool for the acquisition of power, distribution of benefits, assertion of moral superiority, and enforcement of ideological conformity. It means whatever he wants it to mean; but in any case it is always good and right. Thus, it renders him the sovereign arbiter of what is “good” and “equitable,” an irresistible flattery that suggests that no one — from Aristotle to Aquinas to the Founders — had properly considered the correct administration of equity. Accordingly, the patient will rationalize repudiating these stale figures, as well as eternal verities, in furtherance of his newly minted principles of “equity” and enlightenment.
Cultivate in the patient an image of himself as a protector and savior of the oppressed. He will quickly comprehend that most individuals and institutions will yield to nearly anything in the pursuit of “equity” (after all, it vaguely implies fairness and justice, but without any objective standards), for only the most deplorable would oppose equity. This will incline him toward deploying the term promiscuously. Do not restrain him, for the term is most effective when used confidently, even arrogantly, before the public can discern that it is a Trojan horse designed to promote — through shame and coercion — lowered standards, disparate treatment, and false and absurd propositions that could not otherwise gain purchase. After all, few have the confidence or temerity to question, let alone oppose, “equity,” even if they do not know precisely what “equity” is!
Be assured that, in the end, the patient will be convinced, as were all of our most celebrated patients throughout history, that anything is permissible in pursuit of equity — even tyranny. Broken eggs, omelets, and all that.
In my next letter, dear nephew, I shall address use of the delightfully insidious term, “tolerance.”
(Apologies to Mr. Lewis.)