Re:Inequality, Interest Rates, Aging, and the Role of Centra...
by dvt on Friday December 30, 2022 @07:05AM
(#34184287)
> So I think the amount of resources and the level of inequality matter - not just inequality in general.
Yep, I think I agree with this, although I've often seen stuff like "Elon Musk/Jeff Bezos/Mark Zuckerberg shouldn't have that much money. No one should."
So I think the typical anti-inequality argument has a much stronger conclusion.
Assume civilization has the perfect capacity and amount of resources to meet the basic needs (however that's defined) of all people.
Inequality here might be worse than a different civilization where we are in extreme abundance.
If one person has 99% of wealth and everyone else shares 1% - but that is still enough for everyone to have a good life - then it probably matters much less than the same amount of inequality when there's just enough resources.
So I think the amount of resources and the level of inequality matter - not just inequality in general.
Additionally, it matters what the people with most of the wealth are doing. If they're spending it mostly on orgies - that's probably not great. If they're spending it on making advances that we wouldn't otherwise invest in if things were equal - then I'd argue that's good.
All of this is going to be highly subjective based on what you think is basic needs and a good life and how much envy you have.