Inequality
Notes
Claim
Inequality is when two or more members have difference share of resources, rights, liberties, etc... Usually, this is referred in a negative context. Meaning inequality is bad, and caused by unjust means All moral agents are inherently entitled to basic rights regardless of utility or merit.
Explanation
Whether people are able or not to escape their financial situation is a tough question. On the surface, there is nothing that stands in their way Freedom from external constraints, no one forces poor to be poor, and no law prevents them from rising above their station. However, some would claim that they lack the capability to do so Freedom means having the ability to pursue your goals. That they lack the education, the social status, and the tools necessary to escape poverty, so while nobody forces them to be poor, they are in a system that makes their situation permeant.
Economics has always been about the system it creates, and not individual people Systems thinking reveals mechanisms enabling effective change, so we need to see what are the effects of the capitalist system that we have in place.
Why it matters
Often, when we try to solve inequality, the first challenge we face is what kind of inequality are we talking about, and accordingly, how could we solve it.
Inequality has a larger impact than just the share of the resources. The less equal a society, the more we have a Group membership biases perception and shapes intergroup hostility mentality. Inequality separates society into groups based on financial status, and as the gap gets bigger, it becomes more obvious that we are very different from one another, that our lives are so different that it is almost as if we are living in a different world, speaking a different language. The greater the gap, the less they can empathize with each other. The more inequality we have, the less social wealth, less solidarity, less Trust enables reliance on others honesty and good intent, and less Cooperation is working together toward shared mutual benefit within the society, which makes everybody worse off.
Examples
For example, a debate between left-right economical views is the difference between equality in results vs equality in opportunities. The first care that there are poor people, the second care whether they simply had the opportunity not to become poor.
Supporters
Opposers
Open questions
Claims
Visual
Overview
🔼Topic:: Rights, Justice and Equality ◀Origin:: 🔗Link::