15 January 2022

Long Live Inequality

 Pope Leo XIII on the subject of 'equality' in Section 17 of Rerum Novarum:

There naturally exist among mankind manifold differences of the most important kind; people differ in capacity, skill, health, strength; and unequal fortune is a necessary result of unequal condition. Such inequality is far from being disadvantageous either to individuals or to the community. Social and public life can only be maintained by means of various kinds of capacity for business and the playing of many parts; and each man, as a rule, chooses the part which suits his own peculiar domestic condition.

From Mundabor's Blog


I can’t tell you how much it grates me that there should be politicians, actually now in the US more often than in Europe, whining about inequality.

The complaining about inequality is illogical, tyrannical, and Unchristian.

Humans have been made by their Creator with vast differences in, inter alia, intelligence, inventiveness, ability to work hard, ability to overcome difficulties, and many traits more. It is perfectly logical that this, alone, would create vast differences in people’s wealth.

But it is much, much more than that. How do you want to fight inequality? There is only one way: ferocious taxation of both earnings in life and inheritance after death. This is one of the most tyrannical ideas ever devised – which is why Communists specialise in it – as it deprives the human activity of that natural impulse to do better for ourselves and transmit the fruits of our labour to our children. It is difficult to imagine a worse compulsion and limitation of basic freedoms, short of North Korea.

Most of all, inequality is God-given and God-willed. The one is born the son of a penniless peasant. The other is born the son of a King. The social mobility the Church has always encouraged (many Popes of the past had quite humble origins, something that did not happened in secular government) and of which we see Old Testament examples (think of David) does not negate the premise: God wants some to be born rich, or powerful, or intelligent, or strong, or beautiful, and others poor, not powerful at all, dumb, ugly, or weak.

God does so, of course, in order to execute His Providential plan, giving all of us those special graces that are good for us, and asking us after death whether we have used those graces wisely or have squandered them away.

Of course, we need a fair society, which makes it impossible or extremely difficult for someone to enrich himself with devious, criminal, or fraudulent means; something in which, again, Communist Countries excel. And no, corruption and criminality are not given to us by God, they are merely allowed, like any other evil.

If all goes well and you have a well-ordered, corruption-free, efficient society which tries to give opportunities to those who deserve them, what do you get? You get huge inequality, as the emergence of the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts, of the Henry Fordses, of the Jeff Bezoses and of the Elon Musks of the world will be, in fact, encouraged. This is not only legitimate. It is wonderful. It is God-given inventiveness, innovation, resilience, patience, genius, and sheer determination at work. Are these people perfect? Of course not. But neither you nor I are, and still no one asks whether we should be allowed to exist or have money.

Believe me I know what poverty is. Believe me I never had the privileges of the US underprivileged. I never bought $200 training shoes. I went to school with broken shoes. I know what it is not having the money to ask a girl out. I know what it is is to be scared about the future. And you know what? I think it was all God-given and providentially arranged, every bit of it.

Inequality is a toy , or rather a weapon, for people who want to become privileged themselves, profiting from the envy and the mediocrity of the lazy and dumb.

Embrace inequality. Embrace Christ.

1 comment:

  1. It is a worthy thought (w/o having to throw in communism and N. Korea).

    ReplyDelete

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