It does mean that all people should be treated in a manner that is not hampered by man-made barriers based on prejudice or preference. Our current society is stratified with diverse roles, some more desirable than others. Equality of opportunity is designed as a selection process whereby everyone starts at the same place when preparing to fill these roles.

An economy based upon haves and have nots cannot produce equality. It can only produce the aristocracy and oligarchy whereby someone is deciding who has, or not. Let us be mindful that the concept and the desire for equality in revolutionary France proved fatal to that aristocracy.

Without equal opportunity we cannot have social justice. Social justice is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political and social rights and opportunities. Anyone committed to these must concern themselves with the importance of preserving them as a way of helping to ensure that all individuals in our society have an equal opportunity to succeed. We must contend that when we say liberty and justice for all that all really does mean all.

Many of our societal issues, such as drug addiction, crime, poverty, joblessness and sickness, are directly related to a lack of social justice. Even terrorism is fueled, in part, by our practices of social injustices thrust upon millions of global citizens.