When you travel to a rich or poor country, you don't have to look at people's bank accounts to tell which kind you're in. You can see wealth—in buildings and st

When you travel to a rich or poor country, you don't have to look at people's bank accounts to tell which kind you're in. You can see wealth—in buildings and streets, in the clothes and the health of the people. And you can see in the US that increases in wealth disparity have had a negative effect on some of these measures. Healthcare outcomes and the state of road repair are two headline examples of what suffers when the wealthy become so wealthy as to resemble an aristocracy rather than a bourgeoisie. It's often pointed out on HN that there is a seperate legal system for those with money. Likewise, the wealthy have outsized control of the legislative process and the levers of government in general, and they have used this power to enrich themselves at the expense of the lower tiers of society. No, wealth is not a zero sum game, but when the wealthy use their power to make sure they don't have to contribute to the government purse and keep a greater share of corporate wealth for the very top of the hierarchy, they impoverish the rest of society by destroying the foundation that allows people with fewer advantages to turn their labor into wealth. A 747 pilot doesn't make 40 times as much as a checkout clerk because he is a warlord who somehow holds her in thrall. His skills are simply much more valuable. Pilots are also supported by a union that undoubtedly increases their pay. There are many more pilots than there are jobs for pilots, which suggests that they are not paid market rates. I cannot but feel pulled in the opposite direction by some kind of populist/socialist desire to chip in more and make society a better place. You can believe that wealth disparity is bad for the country without being some sort of squishy idealist. Most wealthy people are not like Paul Graham. They are largely in corporate management and finance. It can be argued whether CEOs are worth what companies pay for them, but it does appear that most people who truly have a lot of money are rent seekers, not innovators. And they have actively attempted to make it harder for people who are not already wealthy to become like them.