The Mythical Utopia of Equality

An emphasis on absolute equality, detached from social, economic, and cultural contexts, within a zero-sum mental framework—one in which if one person wins, another loses—is a betrayal of society’s spontaneous efforts (the cosmos) to secure people’s welfare and empowerment. The antithetical view of equality and justice, with the suffix “social,” is neither real nor efficient nor effective. Hayek was skeptical and suspicious of the word “social” as an adjective and as a suffix attached to other words; شهریار احمدبیگی- university lecturer: An emphasis on absolute equality, detached from social, economic, and cultural contexts, within a zero-sum mental framework—one in which if one person wins, another loses—is a betrayal of society’s spontaneous efforts (the cosmos) to secure people’s welfare and empowerment. The antithetical view of equality and justice, with the suffix “social,” is neither real nor efficient nor effective. Hayek was skeptical and suspicious of the word “social” as an adjective and as a suffix attached to other words; combinations such as “social justice,” “social market,” “social ethics,” “social conscience,” “social liberal,” and so on. “Weasel” was the metaphor Hayek used for the word “social” in its adjectival role. He believed that the word “social” sucks the substance out of any term it is attached to and empties it of content, just as a weasel sucks out and empties an egg. In the same way, the word “social” also leaves the noun it qualifies