http://disqus.com/people/9fcfcae53a1cb82a982050039dd42512/enFri, 25 Aug 2006 15:52:12 -0000http://willwilkinson.disqus.com/why_do_economists_care_about_inequality/#comment-3710611It remains a mystery to me how people can not be upset by gross inequality. I don't care if you're conservative or liberal, libertarian or statist, how can your blood not boil when you are presented with huge differences in income? Is there some gene missing? Is this like being color blind? I am not trolling; I honestly don't understand how people can be relaxed knowing that others make so much more money than them.DirkTue, 22 Aug 2006 14:13:33 -0000http://willwilkinson.disqus.com/equally_wrong/#comment-3710650No kidding it's an emergent phenomenon. Only the tin-foil hat brigade and a few squishy liberals think there's some conspiracy to produce inequality. The avian flu is an emergent phenomenon, too, but that doesn't mean we don't try to do something about it.<br><br>Inequality is the single biggest problem in our society. We shouldn't try to increase GDP with no regard for how it is distributed.<br><br>Say someone shows up at your door and offers you either (1) $500 free and your neighbors get nothing or (2) $1000 free and each of your neighbors gets $2000. <br>There are writers in liberatarian circles who honestly believe human beings would pick option 2. Anyone with a shred of understanding of human nature knows that option 1 is preferred by most people. Yes, you get less in option 1, but that's not the point. In Option 1 you feel good, and in option 2 you feel you are being treated unfairly.<br><br>MONEY DOESN'T BUY HAPPINESS. It's how much money you have compared to your peers that matters, not how much you have in absolute terms. The econometric calculation of utility is an academic exercise, but nobody with an understanding of human nature thinks it correspondeds closely to reality. Maybe people with Asperberger's Syndrome believe that. But they are wrong.DirkFri, 25 Aug 2006 15:52:12 -0000