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Inequality can be seen in two ways: extreme poverty versus absurdly rich upper class way of living in the same area (hello brazilians), and mostly everyone at l
by caio1982 9y ago
Inequality can be seen in two ways: extreme poverty versus absurdly rich upper class way of living in the same area (hello brazilians), and mostly everyone at least being self maintainable (say, your average european) even though your perception about others — the envy you talk about — is more of a psychological trap than an actual necessity in your life.
- TheOtherHobbes 9y agoInequality means stagnation of outcomes. You don't just want diversity for ethical reasons - not everyone cares about that anyway - but because by denying talented individuals the opportunity to develop, you're sabotaging future prosperity. Of course you can argue that as long as you have enough talent this doesn't matter. But invention and innovation are wildcards, and you can't always create gamechanging developments to order. If access to environments and resources that develop talent is heavily rationed, you're more likely to get a non-linear collapse in output than a linear decrease.
- panglott 9y agoThere's a deeper argument here, too. Growing inequality is an indicator that the iron law of oligarchy is taking hold. The book "Why Nations Fail" divides societies into those with inclusive and extractive political and economic institutions. Inclusive institutions allow the benefits of productivity improvements to be shared broadly, while extractive institutions fear that the creative destruction of technological change will imperil the position and authority of the elites that benefit. There are some great stories in there about Tiberius and Elizabeth I banning technological innovations. https://panglott.wordpress.com/2016/12/10/books-why-nations-fail/ https://panglott.wordpress.com/2016/12/10/books-why-nations-...