Some Pigs Are More Equal Than Other Pigs
In the masterpiece book Animal Farm, George Orwell tells us a parable about a society that proudly adheres to a fundamental principle of a healthy, just, fair society. A principle made particularly famous by Martin Luther King, who proclaimed the essential need for a society to adhere to, or at least strive for, equality of opportunity.
To do so is to give everyone in society a fair shot at making a successful life for themselves. Doing this minimizes discrimination.
However, in Animal Farm, we learn that sometimes even equality can be perverted, as society may be afflicted by crusaders who insist that “some pigs are more equal than other pigs.” Orwell was, of course, illuminating the failed idea we find in so many socialist nations in history. In socialism, utopian revolutionaries zealously urge that the “downtrodden” (or the “proletariat”) are more equal than others in society. That is, the wealthier (i.e., “greedy, exploitative capitalists”) must be discriminated against to achieve justice, peace, and happiness.
By making the “downtrodden” more equal than others, socialist nations cast aside one of the key elements of a successful society: the selection of individuals based on merit. As King knew, perhaps the most important way to achieve equality of opportunity and avoid discrimination is to create a society based on meritocracy. In such a system, individuals are selected, rewarded, or appointed based on their skills rather than their skin color, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
Again, equality of opportunity means that everyone has a chance to succeed, regardless of immutable features such as skin color or gender, through such things as hard work.
Or as King would say, a person should be recognized for the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.
Ever since I was born 65 years ago, cult-like crusaders (or what I now call those afflicted with the virus of pathological empathy) on the political Left have decided, like the failed socialist nations of our past, that utopia can only be achieved if some pigs are more equal than other pigs. Importantly, this has meant the adoption of quotas and affirmative action. In recent years, such discriminatory affirmative action programs are now called “DIE” (diversity, inclusion, equity).
Ruinously, the political Left has been so successful that today, nearly all organizations, businesses, and schools are saddled with a DIE office or policy. That is, nearly all associations, businesses, and schools have decided that in order to attain “justice,” merit, and skill must take a back seat to skin color, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
In other words, for justice, the political Left fervently believes that we must discriminate, for example, against heterosexual white men even if they are more skilled than black lesbian women.
Some pigs are more equal than other pigs.
In early February 2025, Donald Trump, knowing how comprehensively DIE programs have saturated our society, appropriately suggested that one possible explanation for the deadly aircraft collision over the Potomac River in Washington DC may have been the use of DIE programs for hiring aircraft pilots or air traffic controllers.
In other words, Trump wondered, were any of those pilots or air traffic controllers hired not because of their merit but based on their skin color, their gender, their sexual orientation, or their ethnicity?
Virginia senator Tim Kaine proclaimed he was disgusted by Trump’s comments, and called such speculation by Trump “absolutely stomach-turning.”
But after nearly a century of crusading for a just utopia, Kaine is disingenuous in his alleged disgust with Trump. Kaine and his allies on the political Left have a hidden agenda here. They recognize that Trump’s suggestion is an existential threat to their beloved sacred cow: the DIE programs.
Should we learn that DIE contributed to this tragic crash, a mortal blow could be delivered against this discriminatory, quality-lowering concept of “diversity, inclusion, equity.” A blow that could lead to the beginning of the end of an idea (some pigs are more equal than other pigs, as manifested in DIE programs) that has led to the downfall of many socialist nations.
What is a disgusting outrage is that Kaine and others on the Left are so protective of DIE that they demand that DIE be completely taken off the table as a possible explanation for the crash. We are told we must refuse to even consider DIE as a cause, even though that explanation is certainly plausible following a society-wide adoption of DIE policy.
Victor Davis Hanson points out that the following two questions must be answered regarding the crash: “The first issue is whether hiring, retention, and promotion in the airline industry or the military is not fully meritocratic. That is, were personnel hired based on their exhibited superior education, practical experience, and superb scores on relevant examinations in matters relating to air travel? Or were they instead passed over because of their race, gender, or sexual orientation? Was the shortage of controllers a direct result not of an unqualified pool of applicants but rather because of racial restrictions placed upon it to reduce its size?”
Second, were the promoters of [DIE] confident that they could argue that “diversity, equity, and inclusion” were as important criteria for the operation of a complex aircraft system as the past traditional criteria that had qualified air traffic controllers, pilots, and administrators?”
Kaine’s objection, in contrast to the legitimate questions from Trump, is hideous because by urging we not even consider DIE as a contributing factor, Kaine and others on the Left disrespect the lives of those who died in the crash. It is a travesty to not consider a possible cause of the crash. It is moral bankruptcy to disregard, for political reasons, a possible cause of those deaths and future losses of life due to our continuing to hire less competent DIE individuals in life-or-death occupations.
DIE programs used to bring utopia exemplify the adage that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.