A Discussion of Bourgeois Equality Chapter 66 “What Matters Ethically is not Equality of Outcome, but the Condition of the Working Class”
In this penultimate chapter, Dr. McCloskey tackles the idea of equality as a goal. The rising standard of living in the countries that have participated in the Great Enrichment has given an “equality of general comfort” that McCloskey is in favor of. (p. 632) However, the different kinds of equality desired by the Left and the Right would take that progress away from the bourgeois.
She notes we have an inborn sense of egalitarianism that served us well when living in small, nomadic tribes, and it works well within a family structure. (p. 634)
But when it is extended to the wider society, a rule of No Tall Poppies kills off trade-tested betterment, especially when it assumes that tallness in one poppy causes lowness in another…Yet one finds echoes of such zero sum talk still. It leads to a small pie, and to misery among the poor. (p. 634)
Seeing some that have obtained millions or billions of dollars triggers this urge to lop off the heads of the “tall poppies” in some, but that does not really help anyone.
McCloskey notes that while the Left believes inequality is increasing and that the poor are getting poorer, they are wrong on both counts because both the rich and the poor have been getting richer. And, she observes, the increase in wealth “matters more” to the poor.” (p. 632)
This returns us to an earlier chapter where she expounds on the rising standard of living we enjoy today, which has created an equality of genuine comfort, compared to the $3 a day income humanity had for thousands of years before.
The point is that $3 a day affords no scope for the exercise of vital powers along lines of excellence, a flourishing human life. The exercise of vital powers includes opening a shop for clothing as much as opening a book of literary fiction…At $3 in a traditional or totalitarian society the number of paths are two only, conformity or brigandage. (p. 631)
McCloskey is comparing the poor in countries that have participated in the Great Enrichment to where they would have been without it. The Left tends to look at our unequal distribution of income and compare it to a utopian world with complete equality.
You can imagine…many lovely and unconstrained utopias, perfectly equal yet somehow also perfectly free and perfectly creative and perfectly productive, too. You can thereby make an unattainable best the enemy of an attainable pretty good. (p. 635)
Comparing the outcome of capitalism, or as McCloskey puts it, our trade-tested system of betterment, to an unobtainable utopia is unrealistic and unfair. Recognizing the real gain in the equality of genuine comfort is vital if we do not want to lose it.
However, there is another more sinister motivation that pushes people to complain about inequality: envy.
As defined by Merriam-Webster, envy is a “painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage.”
From 1 Timothy 6:10 we have the famous verse, “for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” Note it is love of money that is the problem, not money itself. Also note it is “a root” not the only root of evil.
Focusing on what others have that I do not is the road to unhappiness. Focusing on what I have because of the trade-tested system of betterment will bring gratitude.
Unfortunately, perhaps because of our inborn sense of egalitarianism mentioned above, we can easily fall under the vice of envy.
McCloskey recounts a story that illustrates envy’s destructiveness.
A folktale from the Czech lands tells of Jesus and St. Peter traveling in disguise, asking peasant families for food and shelter for the night. At last a generous peasant couple provides. The next morning the travelers reveal their identities, and Jesus says, “To reward your blessed charity, you may receive anything you want.” The husband and wife consult in whispers for a moment, and the husband turns to Jesus saying, “Our neighbor has a goat, which provides milk for his family…” Jesus anticipates: “And so you want a goat for yourselves?” “No. We want you to kill the neighbor’s goat.” (p. 637–638)
The trade-tested system of betterment can lead to more people having goats, but the zero-sum, envy-based thinking that lives in the hearts of many would rather kill other people’s goats.
McCloskey concludes this chapter looking at the sins of the Right who also have a version of zero-sum thinking. It focuses on maintaining hierarchy, keeping the income distribution the same. (p. 638)
The trade-tested system of betterment will lead to all sorts of disruptions as some good ideas bring great wealth to people who started at the bottom.
Thus, we can see the vice of envy in many of the arguments from the Left and we can see the concerns with “social tensions” from the Right will both work together to end the trade-tested system of betterment. (p. 638)
The two sides have different motivations but they come together to enact policies that will kill off the Great Enrichment, the one real chance for the poor of the world.
The uplifting during the Great Enrichment of real income to more than ten or thirty times or one hundred the world’s pre-1800 level per person gives every sign of spreading in the next fifty years to the rest of humanity. Our cousins the poor will inherit the earth. They will have enough for genuine comfort and full participation in the community. For almost all of us recently, it’s been getting better and better, and doing so in more places. (p. 638)
Reference: McCloskey, Deirdre Nansen, 2016. “What Matters Ethically is not Equality of Outcome, but the Condition of the Working Class,” Chapter 66 of Bourgeois Equality, The University of Chicago Press.
