tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965395778439498965.post573374483348513587..comments2024-01-02T09:19:24.322-08:00Comments on The Late Enlightenment: Three Thought Experiments About Wealth DistributionMichael Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01017910055699348111noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965395778439498965.post-50087735234311926642010-07-15T11:20:09.579-07:002010-07-15T11:20:09.579-07:00Thanks for your thoughts as well TomG. Including ...Thanks for your thoughts as well TomG. Including status is an interesting idea, although I would in fact make the opposite argument.<br />Yearning for status is necessarily non-egalitarian. Given the choice, I think people would rather be better off than their neighbors than just equal, even though status is a zero sum game. Egalitarianism is a sub-optimized trade-off that we might appreciate rationally but is hard to sell in terms of individual utility.Michael Catonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01017910055699348111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4965395778439498965.post-3015442006154737822010-07-03T03:19:58.652-07:002010-07-03T03:19:58.652-07:00"It seems obvious that the reason anyone care..."It seems obvious that the reason anyone cares about economic egalitarianism is because wealth relates to utility" - at the baser level, yes. But it's not the only aspect, and as one's ability to be self-sufficient grows (in adequately covering our marginal propensity to consume what we reasonably wish to) this utility basis segues to human status as of paramount concern. With one's wealth being the largest measure of worth in most all modern societies, living amongst those with so much more makes one highly aware of the differene in how one's treated relative to those with greater wealth - and there are plenty of cues to pick up if one cares to study this phenomena empirically. So in the end I would say that the initial yearning for economic equivalence is utilitarian-driven (an observable disparity as impetus for a desire toward the greatest good for a greatest number - and ideally all), but that once one's achieved contentment and relative satisfaction - versus a prior economic state - then one's sense of valuation in the social sphere (and its accompanying access to more influence, no doubt) becomes the major preoccupation. Cheers, and I've enjoyed your write-ups and shared thoughts - thanks.TomGnoreply@blogger.com