Mises Wire
The Declaration of Independence versus Egalitarianism
06/12/2026
•
Mises Wire
•
Joshua Mawhorter
As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it is likely that we will hear a common, but mistaken, interpretation of the Declaration by both establishment conservatives and progressive egalitarians. After repeating Jefferson’s words “that all men are created equal,” they will make a simple, true observation—at the time of writing, not everyone was treated as “equal” (e.g., slavery).
Following that observation comes the supposition: since the historical period of colonial America did not match the ideal of modern, progressive egalitarianism, therefore, the centralized nation-state was required to increasingly achieve that ideal. In fact, every time period, including the present, that does not match modern, progressive egalitarianism justifies the power of the state to make people “equal” and finally achieve the goal of the Declaration. Thus, the Declaration—the radical secessionist document, based on natural rights and equality of liberty—is transformed into a justification for limitless state power.
Ironically, by taking this interpretation of the Declaration of Independence, proponents of this view not only empower the centralized state but promote a view of “equality” that shares a common ethical error with slavery itself—that legal castes of humans may be created and enforced against the liberty of others. Put another way, slavery and modern egalitarianism share a common juridical principle: both permit the state to treat individuals differently under the law in pursuit of a collective social objective. This is not to say that there is an exact moral equivalence between the two, but that the philosophy of the Declaration of Independence critiques both.
Jeffersonian Equality: Equality of Liberty
https://mises.org/mises-wire/declaration-independence-versus-egalitarianism
