User:JustinTime55/sandbox/No one's point of view is any more neutral than anyone else's
< User:JustinTime55 | sandbox
 | This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: A neutral point of view cannot be achieved by giving preference to "under-represented" points of view. |
Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy states:
- All encyclopedic content on Wikipedia must be written from a neutral point of view (NPOV), which means representing fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without bias, all of the significant views that have been published by reliable sources on a topic.
In the novel Animal Farm, a cabal of pigs creates the maxim: "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." Orwell uses this obviously absurd statement to satirize those who would use claimed discrimination as an excuse to pervert an exalted principle, in order to seize power. If he were a Wikipedian, he might have similarly written, "Some points of view are more neutral than others."
Both statements are absurd because they are self-contradictory. Social equality means that no one is worth any more (nor less) than anyone else. Similarly, a neutral point of view does not promote any view at the expense of other (significant) views, therefore is no "more (nor less) neutral".