[foldr]

> If the "economic divide" was broadened merely by making some people better off faster than others, as is usually the case in a freer market, then there's no problem.

This seems a little optimistic. Having a large gap between the rich and the poor does in fact cause problems (e.g. social unrest).

[randallsquared]

It's unclear to me if this is human nature, or just cultural.

[foldr]

Either way, it still causes problems. And one can certainly point to historical examples of it causing unrest in culturally quite different societies.