"It is worth repeating. In the name of humanity, the most brutal atrocities have been committed – first and foremost, declaring one's enemy to be a beast. And so, in the name of equality, individuality, cultures, and destinies have been massacred. It is time to silence all the “big words” – or at least prevent the loudmouths from using them. But is it really inevitable, in order to understand the meaning of “equality,” to think of a natural essence of man, that is, to strip him of all his personality, to ‘free’ him from his history? If so, “equality” would tragically conflict with freedom. But perhaps, instead, it is legitimate to understand equality as the condition that allows us to express our individual diversity, as having equal means precisely in order to be able to freely diverge. And to be able to become ‘friends’ precisely because of, and not in spite of, this free distinction. In the ‘fatal’ term fraternité I think this should be preferred to friendship. ‘Egalité thinks of friendship as, precisely, friendship between equals; and therefore speaks of brotherhood. The equality and freedom we have mentioned, on the other hand, think of friendship that can bind even the most distant stars."