[extropy-chat] extreme inequality *and* wealth-sharing as downregulators

[Adrian Tymes]

--- Hal Finney <hal at finney.org> wrote:
> One of the principles that I find useful in
> considering issues like
> inequality and wealth sharing is to focus on the
> personal aspect.
> Instead of deciding the issue of how other people
> should be forced to
> behave, I first tackle the harder problem of how I
> ought to behave.

I sincerely applaud you for that insight, and the
reasoning behind it.  I've done the same myself.

> Some might argue that we should give all of our
> wealth until we are
> at the same level of the poor we have donated to. 
> In this way, one
> life is made more difficult, while many others are
> greatly improved.
> The net happiness in the world would almost
> certainly be increased if
> each of us adopted this policy.
> 
> How can we turn away from this logic?

I have an answer that works for myself, although when
I suggest versions of it, I am often told it is
impractical for various reasons that are far from
unfixable.  Basically, take the wealth that one has -
physical, intellectual, and all other forms - and use
it to come up with ways that help everyone.  In my
case, I try to build systems and invent technologies
of use to a great many not-necessarily-rich people.
(E.g., I built a self-service e-commerce engine back
in the days when e-commerce was hard and expensive to
set up, on the theory that this could let people take
care of the accounts receivable and some of the sales
sides of a small business for a few hundred bucks a
year.  And now I'm working on trying to tap a new,
clean, and hopefully long-term cheap source of power.)

To have any serious chance of doing this requires a
far higher standard of living than most people in the
world currently possess.  (E.g., to do my nanotech
research, I can either live in Silicon Valley - one of
the most expensive real estate markets around - and
have physical access to the lab, or hire someone to do
my work for me - which would cost even more, in the
long run, and would have less chance of good results.)

Ultimately, one could try to start one's own
multi-million dollar research effort towards building
these things, but only the richest people in the world
can afford that...so aim to become one of them, just
like any capitalist, but do not neglect personal
efforts that can directly help your end goal in the
mean time.  Especially, one can share intellectual
property - ideas, knowledge, and so forth - in ways
that do not diminish one's own net worth.  (Many
people are willing to share their opinions for free.
This is that, but also make sure your opinions reflect
the truth, or disclaim that you don't know if they do
- which also protects you in case you are mistaken.
Try to avoid stating as fact that which you are not
fairly certain of.)  A good example here is a recent
post on this list which reflected confusion about the
nature of electrcity: I explained, and I am none the
worse off for it, but the formerly confused one is now
slightly better prepared to solve any related problems
he may encounter.  And then there are the few
charities I support, where I know the money gets put
to good use (one must beware of "charities" whose
administration eats up most of the donation without
benefit to those they claim to serve - ironically,
this has been the main funding source for certain
recently infamous violent enemies of industrialized
society).

Now, compare all this - which, in theory, a single
person could accomplish - to what would happen if one
gave most of one's wealth to the poor as requested.
Quite a few of the poor would have one more meal, but
then...that's it.  Their status would not be
collectively improved much by a single person's
contribution.  To achieve meaningful results this way,
one would need to obtain much wealth from others, and
some might question whether the necessary amounts
could possibly be obtained through non-coercive means.

In short, make sure that you put the accumulation of
wealth that you happen to possess to good use, as an
investment in yourself and your efforts that yields a
greater return to humanity than giving your money to
the poor.  (Or, if you truly believe in someone
else's vision more than yourself, support that - but
make sure to keep enough for yourself to support
yourself while generating more wealth to support said
other vision.  And, of course, make sure to learn
enough about the other vision to ensure you're not
falling for a trap...but by the time you do this, if
you do not find reason to no longer support it, the
other person's vision will probably have become your
own as well, so refer to the beginning of this
paragraph.)