Equality of outcome is the concept that if you give two people the same privileges and opportunities, two people should end up in the same or equal position. This is the opposite of a meritocracy where you become successful depending on your skills, regardless of the outcome being unequal. Revolutionary socialists support equality of outcome, whereas, social democrats and Third way thinkers critique the concept.
Revolutionary socialists support equality of outcome. Marx believed in a society where needs were not determined by effort or other factors. The existing state favours the bourgeoisie and encourages competition in society. Marx and Engels argued that class consciousness is needed for soiclaist revolution to take place because it means that individuals become aware of the interests of their social class determined to pursue them. Marx and Engels also stated that a revolution will happen as class conflict intensifies between the exploited workers and the ruling class. Although Luxemburg warned against revolutions that highly affected the proletariat and she also accepted the equality of outcome. Luxemburg believed that the working class would protest against the state through strikes which would lead to a final mass strike that would establish socialism. Therefore, they all believe in equality of outcome as the state should be changed in order for this to happen.
Whereas, social democrats support equality of outcome to a much lesser extent that revolutionary socialists. They favour equality of opportunity instead. Webb believed in the idea called ‘the inevitability of gradualness’. This outlines how socialism can be established peacefully through parliamentary law making and democratic reforms. This idea is that democratic politics can bring about policies which look after the working class.
Webb didn’t believe in the Marxist belief in class conflict. She supported the introduction of socialism through democratic institutions, this is called evolutionary socialism. Webb wanted to make changes to capitalism. Although equality of opportunity may lead to differing outcomes, social democrats saw equal opportunity as a means to denying massive income and wealth inequalities. Revolutionaries would argue that social democrats were at best naive to accept a market economy would ever create equality, instead they stood guilty of furthering inequalities by giving life to Capitalism
