Types of Inequality

inequality is natural, but is it good or bad, and should it be eliminated?

Overview

There are two primary types of inequality, natural and manmade. Natural inequality is all around us. It is natural and inborn and grows with the complexity of civilization. Man-made inequality is unnatural. It is the result men using power to force others to do their will. It is the enemy of individual liberty.

NEED TO DISCUSS INEQUALITY THAT IS THE RESULT OF MEN'S ACTIONS AND THAT WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENTAL ETC.

DEAL WITH MAN MADE IN THE SET OF ARTICLES ON INEQUALITY, DEAL WITH UNFORTUNATE INEQUALITY IN SECION ON POVERTY

Natural Inequality

Natural inequality is all around us. Will and Ariel Durant, in their life-long study history concluded that

“Inequality is not only natural and inborn, it grows with the complexity of civilization. Hereditary inequalities breed social and artificial inequalities; every invention or discovery is make or seized by the exceptional individual, and make the strong stronger, the weak relatively weaker, than before.” (The Lessons of History, ch III, pg 21)

Regardless of how much one might wish it to be otherwise, and in spite of religious or altruistic feelings to the contrary, natural inequality cannot be denied or eliminated. It is one of the realities of existence. Although it has been the source of all our progress and prosperity, left unchecked, it has also been the cause of all the world’s slavery and oppression.

Natural inequality leads to very different results depending upon the traditions and laws of the civilization in which it is exercised. In the absence of restraint by law or morals (anarchy) it will inevitably lead to tyranny as the strongest, in their lust for power, subdue the weakest. Where appropriate moral traditions and rule of law exist (honesty and integrity, restricted coercion, property rights, free markets, etc. limited by law and custom), natural inequality can be channeled into productive pursuits that increase productivity and prosperity for all.

Because natural inequality is a fact of life, it is also natural in societies where men are free to use their abilities and talents that those with greater hereditary ability and/or willingness to worker harder and longer, train to obtain competitive skills, will have more abundance than their peers who are not willing to do these things. And those who are also willing to save and invest (taking risks) to create businesses may end up with substantially more than the average man. But they also bear responsibility for their failures, and may end up with nothing.

Although natural inequality may seem unfair, it is a fact of life and the source of progress. If properly channeled by tradition, morals and law, it is a great benefit to mankind, providing the innovation that has and will in the future improve the life of man on earth. Like it or not, we all benefit from the intelligence and creative efforts of the few at the top. The problem is, if not properly channeled natural inequality results in domination and suppression of the weak by the strong.

Natural inequality cannot be eliminated, and if it was, men would cease to be men. Man is more than an animal driven by instinct. At his best, he is a thinking, caring, and creative being that thrives on challenge and opportunity. Man’s diversity is what makes progress possible and life worth living.

Manmade Inequality

There is another form of inequality that is neither natural nor fair. It is the manmade inequality that results from manipulation of power. This is the inequality that the “Occupy Wall Street” movement justly targeted. But the Occupy movement focused on the symptom rather than the cause of the problem, on financial inequality, expressed as the one percent, instead of focusing on the symbiotic relationship between Wall Street and government that unjustly created such inequality by linking business profits with the coercive power of government.

In civilization after civilization, manmade inequality has abounded, as men used power to enforce economic and social inequality, either as dictators wielding the sword, or as crony capitalists and politicians manipulating the government that wielded the sword on their behalf. It is this inequality of wealth, created and enforced through the control of government power, and its periodic resolution in history through revolution or forced redistribution that Will and Ariel Durant described as “… the slow heartbeat of the social organism, a vast systole and diastole of concentrating wealth and compulsive recirculation.” (The Lessons of History, ch VIII, pg 57)

In the past, kings, dictators, and some business men were able to use physical force to amass great wealth while impoverishing the people. The East India Company had its own army that enforced its monopoly control of trade over a vast business empire, fighting off competition and subduing local populations. Surely this was an evil abuse of power for profit.

But in our modern world, where government has monopolized the use of coercive power, businessmen no longer have the ability to use force directly to make people work for them or buy their products. Today, manmade inequality takes the form of crony capitalism where businessmen and politicians collude to rig the market and use the power of government to give favorite businesses and special interest groups a competitive advantage with a portion of wealth so acquired being used to maintain the all too willing political power brokers.

The manmade inequality of crony capitalism is just as evil and unfair as it would be if businessmen or politicians used the army to directly steal from the people.

Safe Anchors

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Opportunity

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Both sides of the political divide use the same words to mean exactly opposite things. Just as you won’t know the players at a football game without a program, you won’t understand the political debate without a guide explaining what each side means when they talk about equality, inequality, freedom, liberty and human rights.