> Why should I want to live my life to the same degree of effort and reward as every else?

I think a constant effort/reward ratio would be something to aim for, since it keeps each individual equally motivated. This might not be optimal for the society as a whole, but it is pretty close. ([0] discusses this in terms of network usage pricing, but the math is more general.)

[0] http://www.mit.edu/people/jnt/Papers/R-04-rjsm-elastic-tr.pd...