> "Cheating" in this sense, is any behavior that skews success probabilities toward any one side of the population over another. So... putting in effort is "ch

> "Cheating" in this sense, is any behavior that skews success probabilities toward any one side of the population over another. So... putting in effort is "cheating"? Working smarter and finding ways to do more with less effort is "cheating"? > I don't expect equality of outcome, but I do expect equality of opportunity. I don't expect equality of opportunity, or at least not in the sense you seem to mean. People cultivate opportunities, as well as their own ability to take advantage of opportunities that come their way. A situation which is a perfect opportunity for one person may not be worth anything to another, because one was prepared for it and the other was not. To a certain extent this modern, more expansive take on "equality of opportunity" is just equality of outcome by another name, one level removed. What I do expect, and what "equality of opportunity" originally referred to, is equality under the law. The law should safeguard everyone's life, liberty, and property from all that would threaten it, regardless of their individual background or status or connections or finances. In any conflict paupers and billionaires and politicians should stand equal before the court, to be judged solely on their actions and not their circumstances. The moment lawmakers or judges attempt to move beyond that, perverting the law to benefit one group at another's expense, the law fails in this first, primary duty. > You make the mistake of attributing to human societies the quality of operating through purely logical mechanisms. I never said anything of the sort. I merely pointed out the contradiction which exists in claiming that employers are "cheating" employees by paying less than they would be willing to pay if the issue were forced by minimum wage laws while not applying the same standard to consumers paying far less for the basic necessities of life than they would otherwise be willing to pay. Consumers benefit far more from this arrangement than employers do.