I’ve done a bit of reading in the last few weeks and have been on a “trade offs” kick.
So lemme ask ya. Would you rather:
- Live in a place where there was more equity but people were poorer; that is the poorest ranked 2 out of 10 while the rich ranked 4 out of 10.
- Or, live in a place where there was less equity but everyone was wealthier; that is the poorest ranked 4 out of 10 but the wealthiest ranked 9 out of 10?
In the second case the wealthiest are not only more wealthy in terms of ratio; more than double the poorest, but they are more percentage points richer as well – 5 rather than just 2.
This is the fundamental choice before us. There are those that think that we should be more equal, that the spoils of the rich should be more equitable to the spoils of the poorest among us. And these people are willing to live in a world that is poorer in general, less advanced in general, in order to achieve this equity.
Then there are people would rather increase the overall prosperity of the world even if it meant that the wealthiest among us were astronomically rich. Rich too the point that most of us couldn’t imagine.
Notice that in the example, the second option puts the poorest at the same level as the wealthiest in the first.
I’m for option #2.
You?