[somethingAlex]

Could you explain what you mean by inequality eats at society at all levels?

Obviously if inequality gets to a certain point, where you don't have a solid middle class anymore - that's problematic. I'm just curious about your stance because I too feel like Jeff being rich doesn't really make my life any worse.

[temp10298385]

It erodes social cohesion. When I went to elementary school in Sweden I shared a classroom with both a child that came to our country has a refugee and another whose parent sat in parliament. Different social classes intermingled frequently. While there are clear class divisions in Sweden, the distances are not so great. There is a sense of security that comes with a more equal society that I think can't be replicated by any other means. I think that once you've lived in a fairly equal society, though Scandinavia does have its shortcomings, it is hard to excuse inequality.

How does Bezos harm you? I don't want to put the blame squarely on his shoulders but I would like to point out an apparent dynamic. When a class of people are decoupled from the issues the majority faces the outcome is resentment. Recordbreaking growth for billionaires while many are suffering their most trying year to date is creating tension.

There is definitely a narrative that can explain why Bezos fortune is rightfully his down to the last cent and why he is a net positive in this world. And it wouldn't necessarily be incorrect. However you can't avoid the fact that his wealth is manifasted as unaccountable power. A society plagued by unaccountable power, which is what I believe that inequality ultimately is, is not healthy.

[dredmorbius]

There are a number of arguments, most are too extensive to fit concisely in an HN comment. Pointers to some might be useful.

At the extreme you have the "utility monster" or "freedom monster" problem. Existential Comics explores both graphically and entertainingly:

https://existentialcomics.com/comic/8

https://existentialcomics.com/comic/259

Much of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations actually addresses the issues of inequality and the dynamic between wealth and power: "Wealth, as Mr Hobbes says, is power." That's one of the shortest and most direct sentences in a book given to long and complex writing.

The Spirit Level is a book-length exploration of the problems of inequality and highly-unequal societies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_Level_(book)

https://www.worldcat.org/title/spirit-level-why-equality-is-...

Thomas Picketty's works (Capital in the Twenty-First Century and Capital and Ideology) fit into this discussion.

Oxfam have a set of suggestions as well, notably Branko Milanovic's The Haves and the Have-Nots:

https://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/three-must-read-b...