Inequality of outcome is the natural human condition. It cannot be eradicated by social engineers, as much as they may wish otherwise. After all, each individual differs from everyone else. Not everyone has the same talents, aptitudes, level of intelligence, work ethic, creativity, physical strength, etc.

Some may excel because they possess one or some of the above attributes, while others fail because they lack many of these same traits. And perhaps they don't apply themselves to the same degree as their more successful peers.

It is equally true that some will be more successful and/or enjoy a higher economic status because of career, trade, or job choice. Indeed, it was way back in the antediluvian era that my Sociology of Education professor informed me and my fellow classmates that choosing the teaching profession means forfeiting the opportunity to attain upper middle-class status. That is all well and good. We made that choice, and the market rewards doctors and engineers, plus many lawyers, high-tech types, and trades people more favorably. We ought not to be envious of those who chose a path of greater remuneration. 

Others may choose a more laid back, easygoing, less stressful life, and subordinate monetary benefits to a better quality of life by choosing employment (if such exists) or a work schedule that better accommodates these objectives. They might well be the smart ones, but they have no right to complain if they are lower on the social strata and have less money to spend. A better quality of life is often worth such financial sacrifices.

Yet just as each individual is different, so too is each culture. Doug Stokes touches on this when he discusses Jewish people in his book, Against Decolonization: Campus Culture Wars and the Decline of the West (2023). Nobody has been discriminated against and hated more than Jews, and yet they are the highest educated of all religious groups. Additionally, they are often "leaders in their respective academic fields," and have won 24% of all Nobel Prizes since 2000, despite comprising a mere .02% of the world's population (pp.66-67). They are also disproportionately successful in the business and entertainment worlds. Why? Because their culture emphasizes education, personal responsibility, and a work ethic second to none. It goes without saying that individuals from cultures that place less emphasis on those preconditions will not fare as well, at least for the most part.

On a final note, an equality of outcome scheme championed by socialists and communists will never work because it violates a basic natural human condition, namely that each one of us is different from all others and, if left to our own devices, will end up in different places. Ending up in the same place requires state suppression of those who strive, thereby undermining their work ethic and destroying the economy in the process. After all, why put forth any kind of effort if too much of what you earn from your labor is taken from you? This is definitely not the blueprint for a vibrant economy.

Image: AT via Magic Studio