Inequality: The Cudgel of Progressives

By Jon N. Hall

Just about every issue that progressives fulminate about is dressed up in the garish garb of equality. Progressives -- so-called "liberals," a.k.a. "the Left" -- invoke equality as though there were no arguments against it, as though no decent, sane person could possibly have a beef with equality. After all, equality is so -- American. "All Fords are created equal, it's your dealer that makes the difference," proclaims the Bob Allen Ford dealership of Overland Park, Kansas. For progressives, equality is an end in itself, and a higher value than freedom, happiness, or prosperity. This is especially the case with progressive economists. For them, inequality explains all evils. Here's economist Paul Krugman in a recent column: But the more important point is that inequality is a major reason the economy is still so depressed and unemployment so high. ... Today, Washington is marked by a combination of bitter partisanship and intellectual confusion -- and both are, I would argue, largely the result of extreme income inequality. ... For the past.... (Read Full Article)