I’ve heard several talking heads on television lately claiming that President Obama and Vice President Biden are using rhetoric that may rekindle class warfare, that their focus on increasing the lot of the middle class at the expense of the wealthy is anachronistic in this time of plenty. (Never mind that the recession is redefining that word plenty.) The talking heads fall back on their standard arguments: rich people do most of the investing, free market capitalism is the most efficient distributor of wealth, and the oft quoted aphorism coined by President Kennedy that, “A rising tide floats all boats.” I think the pundits of the rich are misguided, and I want to use a few sentences to give a simplified explanation of the complex reasons why. To be clear, I am not overtly opposed to wealth, nor am I an advocate of class warfare, but my political predilections are well known to lean to the left and I am myself a member of the middle class. As such, it’s reasonable to assume that my ruminations on the matter will be no less biased than those of the talking heads, who, it’s important to note, are themselves generally rich relative to the standards of a middle class citizen. Nonetheless, I hope that my thoughts regarding the matter at hand inspire others to forumlate some of their own.
Economists have conducted extensive research on the effects of economic inequality, and most, though not all, of that research indicates a correlation between economic and social dissonance. In other words, as the disparity between those who have and those who have more grows, social cohesion weakens. Communal ties degrade and trust among parties attenuates. Criminal behavior rises and community activism lessens. Those of moderate means grow resentful as their voices become marginalized by the ever loudening lobbying of the elite. In fact, I am not aware of a single positive consequence supported by or even tied to a widening gap between those of excessive means and those of average means.
I favor capitalism. I believe it the entrepreneurial spirit and the notion that those who succeed deserve to savor the fruits of their labor, and I am not opposed to the accumulation of wealth. But I also believe that the welfare of individuals and society is paramount, not least because I believe that people leading enjoyable lives is of more importance than leading materialistic lives, but also because it is the welfare of the individual and society that encourages the accretion of wealth in the first place. Much research has shown that unabated economic growth is impossible under the reign of chaos, which, ironically, is precisely the consequence of ever growing economic disparities. Those of greater means owe substantially more to society because it is society itself that has made their enrichment possible. The greatest investment the wealthy can make is back into the society from whence they sprang, for that is the only guarantee of future prosperity for all of us. So, by all means, be rich, but by means of participation with and investment in, rather than exploitation of, society. It would be recidivistic to assume that this time society will somehow respond differently.
Word of the Post
ratiocinate (ra ti oc i nate) [rash-ee-os-uh-neyt] -verb
- to reason; to carry on a process of reasoning.
