„Free people are not equal, and equal people are not free.”
I wish I could remember who first said that. It ought to rank as one of the great truths of all time, and one that is fraught with profound meaning.
Equality before the law–that is, being judged innocent or guilty based on whether or not you committed the crime, not on what color, sex or creed you represent–is a noble ideal and not at issue here. The „equalness” to which the statement above refers pertains to economic income or material wealth.
Put another way, then, the statement might read, „Free people will earn different incomes. In order for people to have the same income, they cannot be free.”
Economic equality in a free society is neither obtainable nor desirable. Free people are different people, so it should not come as a surprise that they earn different incomes. Our talents and abilities are not identical. We don’t all work as hard. And even if we all were magically made equal in wealth tonight, we’d be unequal in the morning because some of us would spend it and some of us would save it.
To produce even a rough measure of economic equality, governments must issue these orders and back them up with firing squads and prisons: „Don’t excel or work harder than anyone else, don’t come up with any new ideas, don’t take any risks, and don’t do anything differently from what you did yesterday.” In other words, don’t be human.
The fact that free people are not equal in economic terms is actually a cause for rejoicing. Economic inequality, when it derives from the voluntary interaction of creative individuals and not from political power, testifies to the fact that people are being themselves, each putting his uniqueness to work in ways that are fulfilling to himself and of value to others. As the French would say in a different context, Vive la difference!
People obsessed with economic equality, or „egalitarianism,” do strange things. They become envious of others. They divide society into two piles: villains and victims. They spend far more time dragging someone else down than they do pulling themselves up. They’re not fun to be around. And if they make it to public office, they can do real harm. Then they not only call the cops, they are the cops.
Even if economic inequality were an ailment, punishing effort and success would be no cure. Laws that aim to redistribute wealth prompt the smart or politically well-connected „haves” to seek refuge in havens here or abroad, while the politically powerless „have-nots” bear the full brunt of economic decline. A more successful approach would be to erase the mass of intrusive government that assures that the „have-nots” are also the „can-nots.”
This economic equality thing is not compassion. When it’s just an idea, it’s bunk. When it finds it’s way into public policy, it’s quackery writ large.
W styczniu 2020 roku Wielka Brytania formalnie opuściła Unię Europejską. Oczekiwane korzyści z brexitu, poza odzyskaniem suwerenności w zakresie kształtowania prawa i zewnętrznych relacji gospodarczych, jednak się nie zmaterializowały. Widoczny jest natomiast spadek wydajności i konkurencyjności brytyjskiej gospodarki, co wpływa także na kondycję rynku pracy.
