I think we are more or less in agreement. > There is no optimum level of equality than can be solved for using a mathematical equation This is not true: We ca

I think we are more or less in agreement. > There is no optimum level of equality than can be solved for using a mathematical equation This is not true: We can choose any function to maximize. As you correctly point out, the usefulness depends upon the validity of the quantity we're trying to maximize. I don't know enough to say if Pareto efficiency is optimal here or not.