Equality Is a Mediocre Goal. Aim for Progress.
2nd May 2018
Tyler Cowen, a Real Economist, shows you a better way.
If inequality is a corollary of innovation, then policy makers must choose their priorities carefully. It is better to focus on innovation, hoping that over time prices will fall and a greater equality of access will follow. If we focus too much on equality, we will think we are failing exactly when progress is rapid, and succeeding when progress is slow.
The push for ‘equality’ is driven by zero-sum thinkers — if there’s only a fixed amount of pie, they want it to be evenly divided because doing so ensures that they get at least as much as anyone else. But life is not zero-sum, because of trade: if I trade you a widget for a loaf of bread, we are both better off (otherwise we wouldn’t have traded). Being better off is the goal, not being no worse off than the next guy.
I don’t care whether Steve Jobs has billions so long as I am better off in a world with Steve Jobs than in a world without him. (And I am, by a bunch.)