Income Inequality, One More Time

David Weinberger / April 16, 2011

This is part three in a debate with liberal blogger Tim Mitchell on whether income inequality is a problem. In part one I laid out why income inequality isn’t a problem. In part two I refuted arguments made by Mr. Mitchell. In this post I show why Mr. Mitchell’s arguments continue to fall short. For part one from Mr. Mitchell, click here. For part two from him, click here. For part three from him, click here.

The fundamental point about income inequality remains: All income groups have made solid economic gains over the past few decades, and nothing in Mr. Mitchell’s arguments indicates otherwise.

In the opening paragraph, Mr. Mitchell states that questioning why income inequality matters if all income levels are gaining is “a poor way of framing the argument as it makes magnitude irrelevant. Indeed, following Mr. Weinberger’s logic, the top 1% could be taking home $0.99 of every dollar the entire country earns, essentially turning our society into an oligarchy, yet Mr. Weinberger would ask what the problem is.”

This statement encapsulates most fundamentally the difference in worldviews. The left sees inequality itself as a problem. This is because equality is one of the left’s highest values. The right values equality, too, but in a different sense. The left values equality in the sense of equal outcomes. The right values equality in the sense of equal opportunity. The conflict arises because equality of opportunity is incompatible with equality of outcome. (more…)