Table of Contents
Definition of Egalitarianism
(noun) The principle that all people in a society have the same fundamental worth and should have equal civil, economic, and political rights.
Example of Egalitarianism
- Equal access to education and health care independent of place of birth or wealth.
Egalitarianism Pronunciation
Syllabification: e·gal·i·tar·i·an·ism
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /i-ga-luh-tAIR-ee-uh-niz-uhm/
- British English – /i-ga-li-tEUH-riuh-ni-zuhm/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /iˌgæləˈtɛriəˌnɪzəm/
- British English – /ɪˌgælɪˈteərɪənɪz(ə)m/
Usage Notes
- Also called equalitarianism.
- Interpretations of this term include equality of economic resources, equality opportunity, equality of outcomes, and equality of power.
- An (noun) egalitarian believes in an (adjective) egalitarian society.
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “egalitarianism” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Bardhan, Pranab K., Samuel Bowles, and Michael Wallerstein, eds. 2006. Globalization and Egalitarian Redistribution. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Bowles, Samuel, and Herbert Gintis. 1998. Recasting Egalitarianism: New Rules for Communities, States and Markets. New York: Verso.
- Giddens, Anthony, and Patrick Diamond, eds. 2005. The New Egalitarianism. Cambridge: Polity.
- Hill, Shirley A. 2012. Families: A Social Class Perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
- Holtug, Nils, and Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen. 2007. Egalitarianism: New Essays on the Nature and Value of Equality. Oxford: Clarendon.
- Jackman, Robert W. 1975. Politics and Social Equality: A Comparative Analysis. New York: Wiley.
- Kekes, John. 2003. The Illusions of Egalitarianism. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
- Kenworthy, Lane. 2004. Egalitarian Capitalism: Jobs, Incomes, and Growth in Affluent Countries. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Related Terms
- egalitarian authority
- family
- head of household
- household allocative system
- household work strategy
- joint conjugal-role relationship
- marriage
- sandwich generation
- second shift
- segregated conjugal-role relationship
- symmetrical family
Works Consulted
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
O’Leary, Zina. 2007. The Social Science Jargon Buster: The Key Terms You Need to Know. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Egalitarianism
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “egalitarianism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 23, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/egalitarianism/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
egalitarianism. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/egalitarianism/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “egalitarianism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/egalitarianism/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“egalitarianism.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/egalitarianism/>.