Why should we strive for equality?
And the answer to the why is that I believe humans have a fundamental right to life. I have no real justification; it just feels right to me.
Not saying that correlation implies causation, just to show that perhaps this ideal equality is not so fundamental to our overall happiness.
Also, I'd like to know how we can strive for clean water and food for 7 billion people (9 billion until 2050) while keeping civil liberties to people along the process.
On the other hand, whenever you have an environment where those who produced wealth were allowed to keep it, you'll see general prosperity.
Arbitrarily taking wealth from one and giving it to other's is not really good idea, I agree with you. The "how" is the whole problem. In my opinion it's the biggest open problem of human kind.
The problem in Brazil is precisely this mentality that keeps us with a half century old labor code and absolutely zero incentive for entrepreneurship.
The Welfare State is dead, see http://workforall.net/ScandinavianModel.html