A just society isn’t necessarily an equal one

Income inequality is a deeply contested issue in the United States today, thrust into the spotlight by the Occupy Wall Street movement’s protests against “the top one percent.” Is our national wealth improperly concentrated in the hands of a privileged few? In a properly ordered, just society, would wealth be spread more equally than it is in America today? Social scientists at Duke University and Harvard have attempted to answer this question. They argue that most Americans would prefer dramatically less inequality than currently exists. We think that they are reaching well beyond the results of their study. Here’s why.
Imagine that you can choose between living in two societies. In the first, everyone has roughly the same amount of wealth. In the second, there are people who are very rich, very poor, and middle class. If you choose the second society, you will be randomly assigned to one of the three wealth groups. Which do you choose?
If you don’t feel comfortable gambling your entire life away, then you’ll probably choose the society where everyone has roughly the same amount of wealth. The degree to which you “dislike” risk might determine which you pick, and since many people are quite risk averse, many will choose the more equal society. But does this mean that your vision of a just society is one in which everyone enjoys the same level of wealth?
Recent research and an accompanying op-ed essay argue that it does. We disagree.

Read more: http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/09/a-just-society-isnt-necessarily-an-equal-one/