Thanks for your thoughtful response!

I completely agree that not everyone should be compensated equally. Those who add value to society should be compensated more to encourage people to add further value. (What constitutes value is a whole other topic!). I think we probably have a moral responsibility to compensate people unequally, so that people are motivated to make all our lives better.

My point was just to shed light on our blind faith that our current economic system allocates resources as effectively as possible. Of course, we’re all aware that there is tremendous suffering in the world, as well as incredible wealth. I don’t think people deserve to be in either of those two states. With luck playing such a huge role in people’s success (or failure), that debunks the myth that people deserve their lot in life.

But, you’re right — the math of how to divvy up society’s limited resources among all of us in the most productive way is well beyond my ability to calculate!