The morality of income inequality
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman writes:
Mark Thoma directs me to Eric Schoeneberg, who argues that the right is winning economic debates because people believe, wrongly, that there’s something inherently moral about free-market outcomes. My guess is that this is only part of the story; there’s more than a bit of Ayn Randism on the right, but there’s also the appeal of simplicity: goldbuggism is intellectually easy, Keynesianism is intellectually hard, as evidenced by the inability of many trained economists to get it.Still, Schoeneberg is right about the tendency to ascribe moral value to market values, and the need for a counter-narrative. I’m going to think about that; but right now, let me describe how I see the US income distribution in terms of justice or the lack thereof.
The first thing one should say is that our system does reward hard work, up to a point. Other things equal, those who put more in will earn more.
But a lot of other things are, in fact, not remotely equal. These days, America is the advanced nation with the least social mobility (pdf), except possibly for Britain. Access to good schools, good health care, and job opportunities depends on lot on choosing the right parents.
Read the whole article, then let's talk about the proper Christian response to income inequality, assuming there is one.
My take on inequality is that it is iniquity (i.e., sin). That takes the emphasis off of making everyone equal (which sounds like not rewarding effort and skill to some) and puts it on seeing that everyone has what is right for them to have as beings made in the image of God. It shifts the whole discussion to morality and human dignity rather than the economic calculus of "inequality."
Posted by Derek Michaud![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 11, 2011 1:03 PM
Excellent article. Krugman goes on to say, "When you hear conservatives talk about how our goal should be equality of opportunity, not equality of outcomes, your first response should be that if they really believe in equality of opportunity, they must be in favor of radical changes in American society."
The perfect society would be communistic (no, no, not that Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist-Maoist crap!), or perhaps better put, communalistic, as in Acts 2:44-45. Alas, as the Apostles discovered in Acts 5, we are all beset by original sin*, and so we have to figure out some other way to make society work as well and fairly as possible in the human circumstances.
(*If you don't believe in original sin, please get back in your space ship and come back home to your own planet.)
Posted by Bill Moorhead![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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January 11, 2011 2:50 PM