Somebody Asked People To Share Double Standards They Hate, And 50 Responses Were Spot-On

Double standards are commonly viewed as a bad thing. No surprise there—nobody likes to be treated differently than anyone else unless it has a positive effect on them. But even then someone other than the beneficiary is put at a disadvantage and that is also not good. So, the idea would be to be treated equally regardless of circumstance.

Now, the pursuit of equality is a very commendable thing. However, soon you are faced with another problem, and that is how far will you take it? Pushing it to an extreme is not an option, so where do you draw the line?

This is where you might start to realize that there isn’t really any ideal place to be in terms of being treated equally as there are too many variables to consider without going overboard. It has to be realistically reasonable, right?

And so once that black and white type of thinking subsides, folks might humor the idea that maybe double standards aren’t some evil social construct that benefits those better off. Because that’s the core problem of double standards—that they put someone at a disadvantage or someone else has the potential to benefit from it.

If benefit is at the heart of it, consider utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that focuses on the outcomes to determine if something is right or wrong. By proxy, that which brings the most benefit to the most people is the best thing to do. This is in part the reason why the lesser of two evils idea is sometimes the go-to tactic for some people.

So, with that in mind, would a double standard be a bad thing if it brings more good than the next best option, which would be to have a single standard?

An example of this can be seen in college admissions practices. Educational institutions might give preference to people from underrepresented backgrounds to promote diversity.

Yes, there is definitely a double standard there that puts one student at an advantage over another all because of who they are. However, from the utilitarian standpoint, ultimately, it aims to achieve a more equitable outcome through example, increasing overall societal and cultural health by providing opportunities to those who might have been historically marginalized.