Substantive Equality

Substantive equality or equality of outcomes may be treated as a very radical end of egalitarianism. While formal equality seeks legal equality and procedural equality seeks equality of initial circumstances, substantive equality looks for equality of outcomes. While equality of opportunities is concerned with initial conditions, equality of outcomes is concerned with results. Equality of outcomes may be of resources such as education, employment or equality in material and welfare terms such as wages, living conditions and other welfare outcomes. Most of the welfare measures and redistributive policies of the governments in terms of social and welfare policies are intended either to provide equality of opportunity or equality of outcomes. For example, equal wage for equal work seeks equality of outcome for both male and female; reservation in employment and education for socially and educationally backward sections in society is aimed at providing equality of opportunity.

Many have argued that desire for equality of outcome is ill-founded. This is because equality of outcomes is against basic human differences in talent, skill, aspirations and desires. This is also undesirable as it would be travesty to treat equal, unequally and unequal, equally, as Aristotle would say. The Marxian perspective would argue that substantive equality can only be achieved based on economic equality and that can be achieved only in a socialist society.