Stuart Theobald’s most recent column was as useful as ever (“Case against inequality is ultimately a moral one”, November 5).
I agree; inequality has to be viewed as a moral concern. There is no evidence that it is either an economic or a political threat. And even less evidence that somehow capping the top end of earnings is going to magically raise the bottom end.
The world is pulling more people out of poverty than ever before. We need to continue doing exactly what we are doing: driving the growth that broadens economic inclusion.
For most of the past 2,000 years all wealth was concentrated among elites. The have-nots had absolutely nothing. Contrary to popular belief, in this world social systems were actually rather static and stable. While there was (endless) conflict, this wasn’t between the haves and the have-nots. Almost all conflict was exclusively between elites.
Social mobility and social conflict are recent phenomena and clearly related: a direct consequence of wealth now extending beyond elites. But this conflict is not about inequality. It is about opportunity. Most humans today are struggling to access historically unprecedented opportunities for poor people to lift themselves out of poverty. And they are doing it in unprecedented numbers.
We need to keep fighting to deepen growth, extend opportunity and broaden the extension of wealth.
Stuart Meyer
Via BusinessLIVE
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