It's not quite zero-sum, but you certainly have a point. I guess if everyone had the same abilities engineers and janitors would get paid the same since they wo

It's not quite zero-sum, but you certainly have a point. I guess if everyone had the same abilities engineers and janitors would get paid the same since they would have equal negotiation power. Managers, high-level salesmen on the other hand would keep their pay, since network is by definition exclusive. Same with the capital elite, which always need good networks with each other and government, not to mention that money grows exponentially - even a small initial advantage leads to dominance over time. It seems someone has to end up on top, even if we were all equal.