One of the more interesting figures in contemporary bioethics is Oxford’s Julian Savulescu. An Australian who is a former student of Peter Singer, he boldly rides utilitarian theories wherever they wander, regardless of unsettling this might seem to his readers. As a fan of eugenics and human enhancement, he is a weathervane for bioethics which is sceptical of human dignity. So it was interesting to read on his blog that he has rejected one of the cornerstones of Enlightenment humanism, equality:

“Equality is an ideal born of the vice, or one of the seven deadly sins, of envy. It has no intrinsic value but panders to our vicious nature to be envious of others…

“Equality has no intrinsic value. Our commitment should be to the lives of individual people not to human ideals like equality.

“Equality is a dominant moral ideal in contemporary society. Egalitarianism is the stated principle for the [National Health Service}: equal treatment for equal need. Equality might be a good rule of thumb but it should not be a final regulative ideal. “ ~ Julian Savulescu’s blog, June 17