超过一定限度的不平等结果难免会引起更大程度的机会不平等；而不管是结果还是机会的极端不平等都会破坏人人平等 — — 即使物质生活条件不平等，公民身份也是平等的 — — 的观念。
Beyond a certain point, unequal outcomes inevitably fuel greater inequality of opportunity; and extreme inequality of either outcomes or opportunity can undermine the idea that we should all be equal as citizens, if not in material standard of living.