Economic Inequality: The Attack on Wealth and the “Super-Rich”

Critics of economic inequality often focus on the widening gap between rich and poor and the resulting injustice. But the article argues that this is only half the story. The other half is the value created when entrepreneurs and inventors develop new products and services.

If a world of super-rich people is considered unjust, the article says, it should be compared with a world without them, their inventions or the products that improve everyday life. Such a world would have no cars, airplanes, mobile phones, internet, technology companies, modern communications, medicines, rising crop yields or electricity. People might be more equal, it argues, but they would live worse and for fewer years.

When an entrepreneur creates a product that improves the lives of millions, the entrepreneur retains only part of the value created. The rest, according to the article, reaches consumers, suppliers, employees, the state and investors. This value did not previously exist, so it was not taken from anyone. It was created and distributed among millions of people.

The article therefore asks whether society wants slower growth in the supply of goods and services, with political conflict focused only on dividing existing wealth. Its answer is that wealth must first be created before it can be distributed widely. Rather than trying to seize the resources of successful entrepreneurs, society should encourage more people to develop innovations.

The article also points to taxes, jobs, investment and charitable donations made by wealthy entrepreneurs. It argues that such donations can use the effectiveness and values applied in business, while state management may suffer from bureaucracy, corruption, inefficiency and political goals disconnected from real needs. The supplied text ends while continuing this argument.