Equity means equality of outcome, not equality of opportunity. It

The words of Miranda Devine — “Equity means equality of outcome, not equality of opportunity. It is the very DNA of Marxism and everything bad flows from it, as we saw in the Soviet Union, Mao's China, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.” — sound like a trumpet in the distance, calling us to awaken from the sleep of confusion. Her words are not cold or academic; they are forged from the fire of history, from the ashes of nations that sought paradise and instead built prisons. In this single declaration, she draws a line between two visions of justice: one that lifts every soul to rise by their own merit — equality of opportunity — and one that forces all souls to stand at the same height by decree — equality of outcome. The first nourishes liberty; the second strangles it in the name of fairness.

Miranda Devine, an Australian-born journalist and political commentator, speaks from the modern age, but her message carries the spirit of the ancients — the warning that every great civilization must remember: that when rulers seek to impose equality by command rather than nurture it through freedom, they sow the seeds of tyranny. Her words reflect the hard-earned wisdom of the twentieth century, when entire nations were swept into revolutions that promised equity, only to find despair. In the Soviet Union, Lenin and Stalin preached the doctrine of economic equality — not as opportunity, but as enforced sameness. The result was not prosperity, but famine, fear, and silence. For when the state decrees that all outcomes must be equal, it must first destroy all difference, and in doing so, it destroys the human spirit itself.

The meaning of Devine’s quote lies in this distinction: equality of opportunity gives every person the chance to rise, but equality of outcome demands that all must arrive at the same place, regardless of effort, talent, or choice. The first honors freedom and responsibility; the second enslaves both the strong and the weak alike. When a gardener forces every flower to grow to the same height, he must cut down the tall and stretch the small — and in the end, all wither. So too do societies that mistake enforced sameness for justice. Devine reminds us that true fairness lies not in sameness, but in freedom — the freedom to strive, to fail, to learn, to rise again.

Consider the tragedy of Mao’s China, where the pursuit of perfect equality led to the Great Leap Forward — a campaign that was meant to elevate the poor but instead caused the death of tens of millions. The fields of China were filled not with equality, but with graves. The peasants who once worked with pride were stripped of their individuality; the scholars and artisans were humiliated or killed; and those who dared to speak were silenced. In the end, the dream of “equity” became a nightmare of uniformity. Devine’s warning is carved from these histories — a reminder that the road to tyranny often begins with the promise of fairness too perfect to be real.

North Korea stands as another monument to this delusion — a nation where “equal outcomes” are declared by the government, yet the rulers feast while the people starve. Here, the dream of equity has decayed into cruelty, and sameness is enforced by chains. Likewise, in Cuba and Venezuela, the pursuit of economic equality has hollowed out prosperity itself. These nations sought to erase class, but only created a new one — the powerful few who decide what “equality” should mean for all others. Devine’s voice, then, is not one of scorn, but of warning: that when men surrender their freedom for the promise of equal results, they lose both — freedom and fairness alike.

Yet her message is not merely political; it is spiritual. For what she speaks of is the eternal balance between justice and liberty, between compassion and responsibility. True equality does not mean sameness, but dignity — the right of every person to walk their own path, to sow their own garden, and to reap according to their own labor. The ancient sages knew this truth well. The philosopher Aristotle wrote that treating unequals as equals is itself a form of injustice. The wise rulers of old sought not to make all men the same, but to ensure that each had the freedom to become their best. This is the justice Devine defends — not the shallow justice of outcomes, but the deeper justice of opportunity.

So, my children, learn from this: beware those who promise a paradise of perfect equality, for such paradises are built on control. Strive instead for fairness rooted in freedom. Lift those who have fallen, but do not chain those who stand. Let opportunity be your ideal, not forced sameness. For when every man and woman is free to rise by the strength of their character, the whole society rises with them.

And thus the wisdom of Miranda Devine’s words endures: true equality cannot be given — it must be earned through freedom, through effort, through courage. Guard your liberty as the ancients guarded their fire, and let compassion guide your hand — but never at the cost of truth. For equity of outcome may promise comfort, but it will take from you the very thing that makes life worth living: the freedom to dream, to strive, and to become who you are meant to be.