Equality, ageism and the workplace
Mandatory retirement ages should be abolished. Do you agree or disagree?
LNAT Section B · Founder's essay plan
The essay question
Mandatory retirement ages should be abolished. Do you agree or disagree?
The plan
Stance
Agree. Mandatory retirement ages should be abolished because they violate equality and legal coherence, undermine economic efficiency, entrench structural ageism, and erode intergenerational cohesion and justice.
Point 1 — Rights, Equality, and Legal Incoherence
Base norm: The rule of law must be internally consistent and non-discriminatory.
POINT: Mandatory retirement laws contradict the very equality principles they purport to uphold. The state cannot ban age discrimination yet practise it by law.
Explanation: Age-based dismissal offends autonomy (Art 8 ECHR) and equality (Art 14 ECHR; Equality Act 2010). It treats people as categories, not as capable individuals, violating Kant's injunction to treat persons as ends.
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