The Moral Innocence of Economic Inequality

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 433 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon.  The Moral Innocence of Economic Inequality(Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

Egalitarians argue that economic inequality is inherently morally wrong. Their mistaken emphasis on inequality results in misguided governmental policies that move the goalpost from the real problem of poverty to the fictitious problem of income inequality. This is the central contention of philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt in his concise book “On Inequality” which informs this article. For example, in a December 2013 speech, then President Barak Obama commented extensively on income inequality labeling it “the defining challenge of our time.” This flawed assessment engendered misguides policies during his administration. Despite enormous social expenditures, the U.S. poverty rate in 2015 was 1.0 percent higher than 8 years earlier (Census Bureau Report). The defining challenge of our time is not that our incomes may be widely unequal. The problem is that poverty is widespread. Making everyone equally poorer is not the answer.  Yes, economic inequality may seem wrong, but what is morally undesirable is not inequality, but poverty. Consider the following: In the 2017 Forbes ranking of the World’s Billionaires, Bill Gates topped the list with a net worth of $86 billion. His fortune is 86 times the wealth of those at the bottom of the list with a mere $1 billion in capital. Are we morally offended by this inequality between the top and bottom billionaires?  Or, are we morally outraged by the enormous income inequality between someone earning $100 million yearly and someone earning only one million? Having less and having quite a bit are not contradictory. Doing worse than others is not equivalent to doing poorly.  If we are not distressed by these inequalities, and I do not know anyone who is, it should be clear that it is not inequality as such that we find morally disturbing. As professor Frankfurt puts its, “What directly moves us...is not a relative quantitative discrepancy, but an absolute qualitative deficiency. It is not the fact that the economic resources of those who are worse off are smaller than ours. It is the quite different fact that their resources are too little.”  To the degree that inequality is morally objectionable, is derivative of the fact that income inequality tends to generate unacceptable inequalities of other types such as political influence. The derivate negative aspects of income inequality need to be addressed. But to focus on how our economic status compares with the economic status of others is a shallow analysis that distracts from what ought to be the real policy aim: the elimination of poverty.  Our policy making should not be guided by alienating strategies focused on the quantity of money that other people happen to have. What is morally important is not how people’s wealth compares. What is important is for people to have good lives.  Egalitarians, and others, unreflectively believe that income equality enjoys a presumptive moral advantage over other policies. Not so, there is a dangerous conflict between policies that seek income equality and our individual freedoms.  Increased inequality is a natural phenomenon that flows from our diversity in talents, capacities, preferences, and choices. When our activities create something of value and our wealth increases, we are better off, but so is society. Egalitarians incorrectly posit that the economic pie is fixed so that a bigger slice for some must come at the expense of others.  The evidence suggests that, in market economies, increased inequality and stronger economic growth work in tandem enlarging the economic pie. Patterns across developed nations show that higher inequality is accompanied by a richer middle class and richer poor population. Higher inequality is related to higher living standards for those below the high income levels as well as for those in the top levels.  The moral measure of improvements in society is not vilifying the rich; it is increasing the well being of the poor. Natural inequality does not lower the standard of living of the poor. As a moral value, economic policy should focus on freedom and not on income inequality. Inequality results when an individual or group progresses. As such, inequality is a metric of success. Progress is always unequal. Intrinsically, income inequality is morally innocent.  Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon.  Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

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