I disagree (and I have checked that this is a reply and not an edit).GE Morton wrote: ↑March 6th, 2022, 2:34 pmThis ubiquitous whining about economic inequality is tedious, a phony bugaboo contrived by the Left to illustrate the "evils of capitalism."
A free economy is bound to be unequal, because people are unequal --- in the skills, talents, interests, ambitions, and attitudes that create wealth. It is a perfectly natural outcome of those inherent inequalities, and there is nothing evil, or even remarkable, about it.
There are optimum levels of inequality. Too much equality brings stagnation, leading to infighting and instability. Too much inequality and there is economic and physical oppression for many, leading to divisions and instability.
America's current instability is largely a result of too much inequality. Just because inequality does good in terms of innovation and achievement does not mean that more of it is better. Not yet.
In the future, more advanced technology will make possible levels of inequality so great that each individual will ultimately be under complete control 24/7.
Humans and ants are organisms that respectively create super-organisms, humanity and ant nests. The collectives act, to some extent, like a single organism, controlled by a single locus of control. In evolution, colonial organisms can become ever more integrated, to the point that they are effectively a single organism, with sea sponges being a clear example, being only slightly more like an organism than a colony.
We can see signs of this growing integration in the wish of many people to be controlled, with autocracies (monarchies under another name) rising.
Extreme inequality is one step on the way to the total control that is the future of humanity. It looks bleak to us now - the idea of individuals living ever smaller, meaner, more restricted lives while ever greater wonders are achieved by The Leadership. However, if you are born into it and don't know any better, no drama.