Government interventionists are quick to cry "inequality is growing" and to use it as an excuse for more interference in our private lives.
And some Libertarians are all to quick to concede that inequality is a bad thing; just that a freer society, rather than a more state controlled society, is the solution.
Both have not spent long thinking about what exactly inequality represents.
It represents opportunity.
Why have crypto-currencies allowed so many people to become millionaires in so short a span?
It is because of the yawning inequality that existed - and still exists - between these new technologies, and the old standard.
A bitcoin was worthless - completely unequal - compared to the mighty dollar. Now it makes the dollar it's bitch. In both cases, the inequality allows savvy observers to greatly enrich their own lives - and not just monetarily.
Investors have long known that value lies in inequality - they call it the spread.
And we know from simple praxeological analyses that government attempts at minimising inequality create more harm than good. Just think of the various attempts at standardising everything from working hours, to forcibly banning certain less intelligent and disabled people from entering the workforce (aka the minimum wage), to "progressive" inflationary policies that hurt the poor the most. All are attempts at equalising us, and all make us poorer in the attempt.
Yet it is precisely the inequality of being poor, or running a small business, that confers an advantage - when left alone. Because they have less to lose, are closer to the action, and can offer a more personalised service, the untrammelled market will always enable people to get a foot in the door - and outside of a person's own gumption to go for it, it is only the gun of the state that can stop them.
The truth is that inequality is necessary for life, for movement, for progress.
Thanks to inequality I have food, water, shelter, a laptop.
All that is good in the world is derived from inequality, for without inequality there would be no trade, no exchange between people. No knowledge transferred or wealth gained. What incentive would there be for any of these things if all and everyone were equal? Where, in fact, would the much vaunted "diversity" come from?
As Mises put it:
“If the earth’s surface were such that physical conditions of production were the same at every point and if one man were … equal to all other men … division of labour would not offer any advantages for acting man.” Mises, Human Action, pp.157
The greatest inequality allows for the greatest and most rapid improvements. If you are a novice gymnast, then the inequality between you and someone greatly more skilled implies that you can reap great rewards through diligent training.
And, through observation, we know this to be true, as the people who make the most rapid progress in any discipline are beginners - this observation was the central one underpinning my contention that it is possible to be “good at everything".
Inequality is a pre-requisite for friendship of the best and most rewarding kind; a friendship where each party benefits from the presence of the other. Superficially it might seem as though friends are simply providing things in common, and this is true. But the inequality underlying this is that a person cannot provide that thing for himself in a way which is companionable.
Inequality is the seed of romance, and passion. It is the motivating force behind all great art; the desire to enhance something from mundanity to greatness.
It is the essence of struggle, which is a necessary but not sufficient component of all great stories - both fictional and true.
The great lesson is this; whenever you discover inequality in your own life, instead of bemoaning it, try and find the edge that it confers to you. It may be a tiny edge, almost nothing - but that is all you need.
And when you find yourself on top of the mountain, and now you're the big dog, take heed; the inequality you have created will allow someone else to chase you all the way up - and perhaps take your spot.