Imagining Unequals, Imagining Equals: Concepts of Equality in History and Law

Why did »equality« become prominent in European societies based on hierarchy during the Enlightenment? What does »equality« imply for societies, politics or legal systems? The contributors explore concepts of equality from the perspectives of history and law and draw on the idea that practices of comparing were essential when it came to imagining others as equal, fighting discrimination, or scandalising social inequalities. Among others, Lynn Hunt, Helmut Walser Smith and David Keane investigate visionary practices in revolutionary France, the collection of data on the poor in 19th-century Germany, the claims raised under the minority regime of the League of Nations, and the anti-discrimination politics of the United Nations and India.