RE: Facts About Consolidation of Corporate Power - Wealth Inequality And Its Negative Impact On Society
Most of what I am about to say here is mostly referring to the section about wealth, or the "so" called wealth inequality.
I recently wrote a letter to my 2 young boys and placed it here on Steemit for them to read a later stage in their life.
I am going to quote a section of that letter here because I think it applies to this post and my thoughts on it.
Life Isn't Fair
Unless you are always winning in life, life will no doubt feel unfair to you. The truth is life doesn't play with rules of fairness in mind.
In our own personal ideas of fairness, it is almost always in self-interest. It is the reason we have judges in courtrooms, referees in sports, and police officers for our communities. We as humans expect the world to comply with our own senses of right, wrong, and fairness.
But the reality is life has no particular interest or sympathy of our own interests. You worked hard but didn't get a raise. You love her with all your heart, but she ignores you. You studied hours upon hours for the exam but failed it.
All those seem unfair to you right? But in life fairness isn't about just "you." We as an individual are not the greatest authority on everything ever in this whole world we live in.
As I write this post now for steemit and you, there are authors who may earn thousands of dollars for their post, where I may only make a few cents, as an example. In life, this is fair based off of what others perceived value is, we are judged for what we do not what "we" think.
As soon as you are old enough to read and understand this my two boys, please accept the fact that fairness in life can not be achieved by your own individual thoughts, ideas, and self-interests, your life will be much more enjoyable understanding this.
Many other things I write to my boys might apply here as well. If anyone is interested in the whole letter you can read it here https://steemit.com/parenting/@fat-like-buddha/a-letter-to-my-sons-preparing-for-lifes-journey
And one final point I want to make is just because "that one person over there" has something doesn't or should entitle me to have it as well, unless, of course, I want to do what that person did to achieve it.
Wealth is overrated anyway, I read an article here on Steemit recently that said anything after 200k per year has no noticeable effect on a person happiness with life anyway.
This of course, is my own personal opinions, as you can probably tell I am not a believer that a more equal or socialist society is greater than what the US currently has. I firmly believe it would only foster stagnation, boredom, and laziness.
You get an upvote still because it a well written article, even though I might not agree with its premise :)
It is true that people created concepts of fair, good evil, wrong. They are all arbitrary and shaped by culture.
The fairness I am talking about (and mentioned in book The Spirit Level) is based on what science considers sustainable for social, individual and environmental well being. Therefore this fairness is not based on subjective ideologies but refers to natural laws and human nature (human nature means basic human needs).
"stagnation, boredom, and laziness"
This claim has no base in science. Making things abundant, does not take our ability to be creative. We as human take a pleasure in sharing and cooperating. There is a reason why so many people volunteer regardless of having an employment or wealth. Also when we achieve post scarcity society with abundance, we could direct our creativity on the things we really enjoy doing (volunteerism, art, physical activities etc).
https://steemit.com/anarchism/@logic/the-venus-project-and-resource-based-economy-transformation-towards-truly-anarchistic-social-system
"200k per year has no noticeable effect on a person happiness with life anyway"
If a person grows his pocket book, but not his brain, ambitions or philosophy of life, then he is without a doubt doomed to be miserable. Money itself is an important ingredient, valueable property is a tool, but having lots of any specific currency does not make a good, happy, person.
I agree. What's in your head is important. Acquisition of something, obviously has no impact on psychological or intellectual betterment.
Rand - and this is not at all to suggest there were not issues with her or some of her ideas - used to call the attempt to become happy on the accumulation of money alone "an attempt to fake reality".
Amongst other things, she wrote the following:
"Self-esteem is reliance on one’s power to think. It cannot be replaced by one’s power to deceive. The self-confidence of a scientist and the self-confidence of a con man are not interchangeable states, and do not come from the same psychological universe."
Throughout her writing she points out over and over that happinnes comes from purposefull thought and action. From the achievement of correctly identified values.