“When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich”
~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Attributed to one of the leading thinkers of the French Revolution, this quote essentially signifies that the poor will not continue to be content without the basic necessities of life, having been deprived of those by the rich (and the greedy). When they run out of food, they shall be forced to eat the rich, quite literally. The shortened version of this saying, i.e. “eat the rich”, has become the rallying point for those who believe in income equality in the 21st century.
Since the very inception of monetary systems, society as a whole has been divided into two major categories - the haves and have nots, the rich and the poor. While these sects have existed amicably for most of recorded history, when there has been anger between the two, it has resulted in extreme destruction, apocalyptic** situations, even, as seen in the French Revolution, the Socialist Revolution in Russia and Eastern Europe, and many others
**Apocalyptic, here, signifies the ending of a system or era as it is currently known. In conventional terms, the Apocalypse refers to the ending of the Age of Pisces and the beginning of the Age of Aquarius (theorised to be around the year 2597 as predicted by the IAU).
Armageddon on the other hand, refers to the total and utter destruction of the world/universe(depending on the connotation), in all of its forms and dimensions.
Animosity against the rich has reared its head yet again in the present day and age, mostly due to the huge increase in income inequality in this century. As a matter of fact, the number of billionaires in the world has increased by nearly 360% since the year 2000, rising from 470 at the turn of the millennium to 2,153 today. The richest man in the world – Amazon owner Jeff Bezos – makes more than $8 million an hour, which is roughly 315 times more than the average Amazon employee earns in a year! On the global scale, Oxfam, a developmental charity, found that the 26 richest billionaires have as much wealth as the poorest 3.8 billion members of the world population.
However, this animosity has emerged in stark contrast to the paradigm of the past. There are many different opinions on income disparities, not only amongst the rich and the poor, but also amongst those who would benefit most from a reduction in the same.
This debate has primarily manifested itself in the billionaire conundrum. Some believe that these billionaires deserve to have the wealth they have accumulated, for they have done so through high risk endeavours. Others believe that no one should have that much money in the bank when so many are starving and homeless. Let us call the former the economic right (hereafter, right) and the latter the economic left (hereafter, left).
ECONOMIC LEFT
The left believes that no individual should have such a huge concentration of wealth while there are 1.6 billion people who do not have adequate access to shelter(Habitats for Humanity) and 820 million people are living hungry(WHO, 2018).
The anti-billionaire sentiment has gained the most momentum in the United States, having the most billionaires in the world, and most of Europe, while it has been a little slower to emerge in other parts of the world. In fact, in the US, a Gallup Poll in August 2018 found that only 56 percent of Americans reported having a positive view of capitalism, while 37 percent reported a positive view of socialism. For young Americans aged 18 to 29, 51 percent said they have a positive view of socialism while only 45 percent have a positive view of capitalism.
In retaliation to the right’s argument regarding entrepreneurship and undertaking of risks being the basis of the wealth of the rich, the left responds, “the most common shared trait among entrepreneurs is access to financial capital—family money, an inheritance, or a pedigree and connections that allow for access to financial stability. While it seems that entrepreneurs tend to have an admirable penchant for risk, it’s usually that access to money which allows them to take risks.” (The Quartz)
Furthering this, University of California, Berkeley economists Ross Levine and Rona Rubenstein analyzed the shared traits of entrepreneurs in a 2013 paper, and found that most were white, male, and highly educated. “If one does not have money in the form of a family with money, the chances of becoming an entrepreneur drop quite a bit,” Levine tells Quartz.
The major change that the is advocating for is to increase taxes on the wealthiest 1%. In fact, even Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, the second and third richest men in the world, who are reportedly fascinated that people are really asking the question “Should billionaires exist?” and believe that capitalism is a necessary system, agree that the wealthy should pay higher taxes. Some even believe that a wealth cap should be established, and no one should be allowed to earn over US $999 million. According to Dietmar Bartsch, a member of the German Bundestag and co-leader of the leftwing Die Linke party’s parliamentary group,
“ [I am] in favour of limiting assets, especially since the situation is such that most of this wealth has been inherited. I am not in favour of mass expropriation of wealth, but instead would like to see a reasonable inheritance tax.
It cannot be the case that some children are born today who can hardly spend their inherited fortune over the course of their lives while, on the other hand, other children have to live in poverty. Every child has the right to develop their skills. That is why I am in favour of us doing everything we can to combat poverty. But that must go hand-in-hand with limiting wealth.”
ECONOMIC RIGHT
On the other hand, the right believes that people have a right to their wealth, and that capitalism should consist of a completely free market without any government imposed limitations, including any sort of wealth cap or tax. They believe that the existence of billionaires, and the potential to become one, adds immense value to society, because it creates an incentive.
Most self-made billionaires come into their fortunes through high risk ventures. This means that, while the chances of failure are huge, the potential rewards in a free market society are large enough for people to invest substantial time and capital into promising projects that have no guarantee of success.
Also, due to this system, a venture can – by and large – only become successful if enough people are willing to pay for it. In other words, the incentive mechanism of market capitalism – the incentive of potentially becoming a billionaire – directs our brightest and best to invent and operationalise the ideas that will radically improve the lives of all people.
Without it, life-changing ideas would supposedly never be turned into reality, and people who have the talent necessary to improve our lives would likely put their time into less socially productive things.
As a result, they believe billionaires should not only be seen as a non-issue, but also as an essential component of a well-functioning society and dynamic economy.
GOOD BILLIONAIRES
While no person can be considered objectively ‘good or bad’, there are some billionaires that are better than others, simply because they donate their wealth to various charities and attempt to help those who do not have as much wealth as they do.
Bill Gates: For a long time, Gates was the richest man in the world, having started the OS that powers 95% of all computers in the world, that is, Microsoft. Along with Melinda Gates, his wife and another billionaire, Warren Buffet, he founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. With over $45 billion in assets, the foundation has spent over $20 billion to date, fighting for various causes around the world. Devoting his time, after having retired from active business, Gates has been a spokesperson for hygiene, vaccination, and global hunger.
Warren Buffet: He is the one who convinced Gates to follow the philanthropic route. He could quite easily have become the richest man on the planet, beating Bill Gates. But he chose not to. He has given away more than $40 bn to date for various causes and has pledged over 99% of his wealth when he passes away to the Gates foundation. He exemplifies simple living and elevated thinking.
Jack Ma: Mr. Ma entered the global scene when his company Alibaba went for its IPO, making him the richest Asian person in the world. His journey, from a nobody to one who has revolutionized retail in Asia, is absolutely enthralling. At the same time, he has always maintained a low profile. Amidst the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, Ma has donated millions of masks and testing kits to nations all around the world.
Mackenzie Scott: Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife, formerly Mackenzie Bezos, has donated over US $1.7 billion of her $59.5 billion net worth over the last year to various causes. Following her divorce, Scott signed The Giving Pledge last year, a campaign was launched in 2010 by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffett to encourage the world’s wealthiest people to donate a majority of their wealth over their lifetimes. It currently has more than 200 signatories from nearly two dozen countries.
BAD BILLIONAIRES
Jeff Bezos: He is the richest man now, despite having his net worth reduced by $35 billion due to his recent divorce. One of his companies, Whole Foods, asked employees to “donate their sick leaves” to their co-workers. The richest man on the planet hasn’t said anything about the virus, and hasn’t done anything to help. But he is asking his employees, most of whom barely make minimum wage to be magnanimous. In addition, Amazon employees are underpaid and made to work in what have been called “horrible work conditions”
Mukesh Ambani: His house was built on a $1 billion budget, and his son’s wedding was conducted on a $100 million budget. However, he hasn’t offered any help during the pandemic, and his donations to charity have also been minuscule.
Elon Musk: He recently called the coronavirus “dumb” because it hurts his business interests. He also spread misinformation by tweeting that “kids are immune to coronavirus”. He has also expressed his distrust and dislike of the mask regulations put into place all over the United States, tweeting things like “FREE AMERICA”.
Comments