Every attempt to apply equality in everyday life produces paradoxes. Equality of opportunity assures inequality of result; equality of condition restricts equality of opportunity. Separate facilities make black and white schoolchildren unequal, but only separate facilities provide equality for children in wheelchairs. One-man, one-vote weighs individuals equally, yet counts minority groups unequally. And so on, and on.

Can a writer on equality make sense of all this?  Can he talk of equality, or must he deal with particular and diverse equalities? Can anyone construct an intelligible account of equality in American history?