this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2025
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Why do a small amount of individuals need to be the gatekeepers on so much wealth?
And what is the alternative? What would you prefer?
Capital is economic power. Should it be concentrated or not? Well, I will first say that I do not see a reasonable way to drastically reduce this inequality of power apart from socialism(as in planned economy, not welfare) which I reject for many reasons.
I would say it should be concentrated because: Most people do not have the desire or capacity to wield economic power. This has nothing to do with their intelligence or worth as an individual, but with their character mostly. It involves making many difficult decisions and significant responsibility, as you are at risk of losing your investments. You also need to show initiative which many people lack. If capital was evenly distributed most people would not have the foresight to invest but likely would just spend it to buy the things they need/want for the already mentioned lack of desire and initiative for entrepreneurship.
Also, there would be no or very little incentives to do well since you would have about the same amount of money as everyone else anyway, and this would destroy our economy, since it relies on capitalists altering the allocation of resources based on personal incentives and information granted by the market(expressed by price). If these incentive structures are weakened, this can make the economy unresponsive, which will make the resource allocation uneffective, probably even less effective than when the economy is managed by the state(socialism).
With the concentration of wealth and thus power being the ideal state, you appear to be arguing in favor of a landed aristocracy who are inherently better at ruling than everyone else because of their noble character. The peasantry would not know how or even want to wield power, and need to be guided by those with the right to rule. In this case it is the right mix of sociopathy and exploitation that defines nobility of character instead of strictly bloodline and Devine Right. This is a very interesting take.
I personally feel that along broad scopes, any human is equally capable of the desire and capacity to wield economic power. It is nurture and not nature that derives this. I would then argue that a level playing field with the Government enforcing strong anti-trust laws is a much better driver of economic force and growth. Healthy competition with no artificial barriers to market entry will allow the market to produce the best results.
Preventing monopoly, duopoly, and oligarchy will constrain the scope of inequality along with taxation without any need for a planned economy. I favor something like a land use tax, but there is much discussion to be had on that front.
Humans are semi-eusocial creatures, so greed must be properly channeled and cannot be allowed to run unchecked. Inequality at certain levels is expected and can/does increase drive for success, but must be tempered for optimal results.
Bourgeoisie amd aristocracy are very different kinds of elites. You assume too much about what I believe.
Education and upbringing certainly play a role in forming character, but what does it matter, if we know that most people are still probably better off not having a significant degree of power. Maybe if they were brought up differently they wouldn't be, but they were not, were they?
In my experience most people do not like responsibility. They just want things to go well for them. Vote for someone and hope they solve all your problems, work for eight hours(I am sure they would rather not work at all, to be fair), recieve a wage and not have to think about it for the rest of the day.
How many people you know that refuse to put money in a pension fund? That instead of investing or being responsible with their money buy stupid things? That go into debt to buy non-essential stuff?
Most people are extremely irresponsible and inert, and I do not blame them for that, I think they should be compensated fairly for their labour, but I do not think they should run the economy.
Also, you are underestimating the role of culture in humanity. The idea that humans should be equal was unthinkable to the people of antiquity, as the seeds of that were planted by Christianity. They only sprouted in the Enlightenment.