Wealth Inequality in America

[Rab]

sc94597 said:

Rab said:

NightDragon83 said:
That some folks out there have more money than others? Right, like THAT'S never happened before in human history. T

Look to science to answer that one 

In most of Human existence (100,000 years) we have had little wealth inequality (hunter gather culture) people would share most resources mostly evenly, it's only roughly in the past 5000 years where moderate to high levels of wealth inequality has become common

Lets not kid ourselves we have evolved with sharing most resources most of the time, that's' how we survived to later become the dominated species of Earth, it's part of who we are, we naturally don't like it when others get far more than us, we accept it once we are conditioned, but we naturally feel most comfortable when people are mostly equal to each other.

Since agriculture we have changed this basic principle into one where some have a lot more resources than others, and the ones with the most resources often use it to control the ones with less, creating social problems because people feel less looked after and feel less valued unlike in our hunter gather ancestors who felt valued because they mostly shared in the spoils of the hunting and gathering

I don't blame people for thinking we have always have to live with inequality, it because it's all we have know and are conditioned to it, but the reality for vast periods of Human culture is that is was very different and equatable, our Human DNA has evolved to work best and happiest in as close to an equatable society as possible 

By this logic, should we revert to tribalism and hunter-gatherer life-styles? I'm pretty sure NightDragon's point wasn't that sharing common resources hasn't existed, but as an alternative wealth-inequality and capitalism exist, just as naturally as the first. Anybody literate in economics would know that with a flat, centralized, redistribution of resources productivity would not only fail to pick up, there would be no reason to (hence tribal lifestyles.) 

As for the bolded, I do wish to see biological, psychological, sociological, or economic data which substantiates your statement, otherwise it's just a conjecture.

As for the underlined, how in the world do you know this? Have you spoken with them? 

As for italics, please cite the biological source that the need for equality is a genetic feature found in all human beings, otherwise, stop making unsubstantiated claims as if they were facts. 

What I posted is adequate for general discussion, it's to allow thought and discussion, if what I said is of any interest to you, you will look into it, a more detailed response would be counter productive to the flow of conversation, I personally don't have the time and energy to go to such depths

The evidence is there, you can look into it further yourself if your the scholarly type or continue discounting other views as it suits you (which is very Human) We all do it most of the time so I understand where your coming from

As for going back to a Hunter gather life style (not really tribalism), I don't think we ever could unless everything be build up so far crumbled, but it's very important to know where we have come from, some still live as Hunter Gatherers even today which has been invaluable to research related to our ancestors 

Fact is we have evolved from a different set of conditions that we mostly no longer find ourselves in any more, this can effect our well being and happiness in many ways, at least understanding this gives us the chance to improve the way we run our societies to best suit our DNA, much like trying to improve a Zoo to best suit an animals natural needs

I can't go into more detail as I don't have the interest or energy, so if any of this actually interests you please proceed on your own to discover if there is any truth to what I have said

Cheers