zlacker

It is actually simple: The wealth gap will not close, because not everybody is born equal.

Wealthy people will have wealthy kids (the right of inheritance), kids can use the wealth to increase their wealth because they will have more opportunities to exploit.

Poor people will have poor kids, which wont have enough opportunities to exploit and will probably stay poor.

It just snowballs from here, unless you wipe the economy and make everyone equal again. But then a couple of people will get wealthy again, does not matter if pure luck or skill, and the trend will continue.

Life is not fair and will not be, until we find a way to make everyone equal and provide equal opportunities.

>>csunbi+(OP)
So you're suggesting we pretend it's not an issue we need to address? You're framing it as a natural thing, when I fully disagree. Oh Well, I was born rich, f u, seems like you aren't seeing what is going on out there.

>>csunbi+(OP)
There is no right of inheritance. As people on the right never tire of saying, people should have to work for what they get. Wondermark points out the hypocracy well: http://wondermark.com/c1135/

>>Aviceb+Q
I am not saying that inheritance is a natural right. I agree that inheritance should not exist, because it is unfair. But, still, even if you get rid of inheritance, the kids will have different environments while growing up, it will still be unfair.

This is not a solved problem, so I can not provide you an answer on how to fix it. Hence please see my last sentence in my previous post:

Life is not fair and will not be, until we find a way to make everyone equal and provide equal opportunities.

>>csunbi+(OP)
I believe you have touched upon the fundamental problem.

We severely reduced inherited political power in the West. It was bloody and painful, but it was accomplished.

We can reduce or remove inherited economic power also. Hopefully it doesn't have to be so bloody (I am not so sure).

>>csunbi+(OP)
I don't disagree that there will always be wealthy and poor. I think it is a matter of degree though. In the U.S. it has only worsened....

>>aniro+Q2
Bertrand Russell, in one of his more political books (I forget which—maybe New Hopes for a Changing World?) points out how odd it is that we now consider the notion that people would inherit titles & positions obviously silly and can't even understand how anyone ever took it seriously, but consider inherited wealth completely normal and questioning it as radical.

>>karate+o5
This is pretty off-topic but I've read a lot of Russell, and I just want to point out that he was declared unfit to teach by the judiciary owing to his political beliefs. Just to disabuse anyone of the notion that the United States values free speech and expression.

>>karate+o5
It is a massive paradigm shift. That is exactly what leads me to believe that moving to remove/reduce it is going to lead to violence.

I also think it is likely necessary to do so if we intend for humanity to move forward.

>>csunbi+M1
Or people learn to share and be of service to others. There's nothing natural about everybody being "equalized".