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> The question - and only question - should be what David Simon asks: are we all in this together or are we not? To me, the answer is blindingly obvious. It's d
by clarkm 13y ago
> The question - and only question - should be what David Simon asks: are we all in this together or are we not? To me, the answer is blindingly obvious. It's demonstrated by what societies are flourishing - with high economic and social equality, healthy democratic government, protected personal liberties, well-cared-for populaces, and resilient economies - and what societies aren't.
And the blindingly obvious answer is?
Here's my simple model: large, diverse countries are more unequal than small, culturally homogeneous countries. Just like densely-populated, cosmopolitan regions are more unequal than bland suburbs. Just like world is more unequal than the US.
- jkn 13y agoThen don't look at different countries but at the evolution of inequality in a particular country. The rise of inequality in the US since the 1980's is an indictment of the current system. Here's an animated map showing this evolution: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/19/watch-the-growth-of-u-s-income-inequality-with-this-animated-map/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/19/w... And this article has a chart illustrating the inverse relationship between inequality and well-being in the US: http://aeon.co/magazine/living-together/peter-turchin-wealth-poverty/ http://aeon.co/magazine/living-together/peter-turchin-wealth...