| 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... |