What do you think of this quote?

Question

"The cry of equality pulls everyone down."

Answer 1

All of economics basically falls into one of two categories: wealth creation, and wealth redistribution. Here, wealth means anything of value, not just having gobs of money.

Wealth creation is a positive sum game, in that the more of it occurs, the better off everyone is. One man becoming richer does not do so at the expense of the other. In a wealth creation society, you can have equality of opportunity, but equality of results is almost impossible owing to the many varied types and amounts of talents of each individual, and the varied demand for those talents.

Wealth redistribution, which is essentially what socialism and communism are, stress equality of result. To have everyone equal, though, necessitates taking from the richer/more successful/more talented/harder working and giving to those less so. Those advocating such systems often do so with implicit or explicit claims that those with more got their gains immorally, such as by exploiting the poor. There is also the implicit greed of those with less in getting something for nothing.

Wealth redistribution would be a zero-sum game if it were perfectly efficient, but as it actually encourages economic inefficiencies, it is in fact a negative sum game. The result is that although the poor may believe they are better off, they are in fact worse off than if they were in a positive-sum economy. The poor in the U.S. live better lives than the good majority of people in 3rd-world countries, owing largely to our still mostly (though just barely) capitalist economy.

The cry of equality is, in practice if not intentions, not so much a cry to raise up the poor as it is to drag down the rich. How many politicians have you heard utter the phrase, "the poor get poorer while the rich get richer?" Only in a zero or negative-sum economy is the rich getting richer a bad thing. The phrase embodies the socialist belief that one can only get richer at the expense of another.

Answer 2

It depends on how you define equality. If it means equal rights under the law, then it's not true.

If you define equality more broadly, then it is true. People are inherently unequal in just about every other respect, so the only way you can make them equal is by pulling the more gifted and capable ones down to the lowest common denominator.

That causes adverse consequences for society as a whole, which means that in the end even the lowest common denominators are pulled down as well.

Answer 3

The term is almost universally misunderstood. There is no equality. there should be equality of opportunity.
No two electrons are equal, how can people be?

Answer 4

I think its describing communism (in the Marxist sense). It says that if we are all on the same level, as in a Marxist society, and we all work and live for the collective, then it devalues the individual, who can never further himself, and does not live for himself.

Answer 5

Well anyone that stands around in groups crying will not accomplish unless they do something.

Answer 6

depends on how the term "equality" is defined.

Answer 7

This means that when people want to be the same those who are better end up getting punished.

Answer 8

Depens at what angle you see the universe...we are all equal in death etc

Answer 9

I agree, I believe we see the same thing with the communists.