[thaw13579]

A counter point, it seems that wealth and the power it provides already provide such a huge advantage that the effects of genetic editing may end up being a negligible.

I wonder about the preservation of wealth though. As other posts have pointed out, most wealth is lost within a generation or two. Genetic engineering could end up being used to modulate risk taking behavior and decision making, in an effort to mitigate this. That could have a big effect on the structure of society if successful...

[tachyonbeam]

Right now, in America and Europe, if you work hard, you have a decent shot at becoming wealthy, or upper middle class. Once genetic engineering enters the picture, wealthy people will have a genuine intrinsic advantage.

[thaw13579]

True, and to add one more point, poverty presently brings a along environmental factors, such as stress, toxic exposure, poor nutrition, that tragically impact brain development and leave people with an analogous intrinsic disadvantage later in life. On a positive note, I think these things are well within reach of fixing in our society and leveling the playing field.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-poverty-affec...