It's another variation on the age-old political strategy of envy to build support/cohesion among followers. "See what those people have that you don't have. It's UNFAIR!!" It's exactly the same logic that people who complain about the "one percent" and "greedy corporations" are using.

I've never understood the whole idea of everyone must be equal because. Politically speaking, the US (and most other countries) isn't socialism/communism (and most people become hysterical at the first mention of either), but capitalist system.

The system we're in today doesn't mandate that everyone is the same, and it doesn't mandate that everyone has a right to the same. I'm not commenting on whether the system is a good one or not, just that our current system doesn't support, or even want to support the idea that everyone must be equal in all measures.

What gets me even more is the people who complain that things aren't equal, and that they should be, but who decry the idea of socialism and communism.

I think this book did a pretty good job for me of justifying equality from a philosophical perspective: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Justice-Whats-Right-Thing-Do/dp/0141...

I haven't read it, so I'm judging solely off of the title at this point, but, morally/philosophically/ethically right isn't the same thing as legally right.

And the world might be better if everyone was equal, there's no guarantee to equality. I was reading something earlier today, and there was a statement that implied that being human meant that someone had the right to be a 'full and productive' member of society. I question if that's really a right, and if so, what makes it so that humans have such a right, but not other animals (one could argue intelligence, but the arguments I've seen based on intelligence have only been surface deep, as in 'because intelligence').

Maybe I should read it (I've just put it on my list of things to read at some point). I can't really make a claim for or against arguments put in the book without reading them (and the Amazon reviews don't really want to go into any depth on what the arguments made are).

> It's exactly the same logic that people who complain about the "one percent" and "greedy corporations" are using.

False. "Wall Street isn't winning - it's cheating."[1]

The issue is that a great deal of the 1% is made up of rent seekers. Look at the leaps and bounds that lobbying has done for big corporations and they're executives. See how it's worked to keep healthcare costs (and associated salaries) sky high. etc.

1. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/owss-bee...

How much is a "great deal" and can you provide links to prove it?

Not quite. The one percent and the greedy corporations are subverting the democracy and putting themselves outside of any regulation.