Wealthgapsareharmless

　　WealthgapsareharmlessTtheinherentvirtueofsocialismistheequalsharingofmiseries。
　　SinceIwasachild，theheroictalesofRobinHoodandAllmenarebrothershadalwaystriggeredsuspicionsinsideme。RobinandtheLiangShanheroeswerepraisedforrobbingtherichtopaythepoor，forstampinguponlawsarerulesandhavingtheirownways。AndI’dask，Whatdidtherichmendotodeservesuchthings？It’sthesamequestionwe’daskourselvestoday，whentryingtosolvethewideningwealthgapwithtaxation，whichisamilderwayofredistributingwealth，butmoreorlessofthesamenature。
　　ThedebatehasgoneonforcenturiesandIfindmyselfswingingfromoneviewpointtoanother。Andafterplacingcarefulthoughtsintothematter，Iamfinallyabletoputmyfingeronit。Theproblemisn’thowweshouldnarrowwealthgaps，becausethat’snotourgoal。Wealthgapsareperfectlyharmless，noteventhewidestones。IdonotcarehowmuchmoremoneyabillionairehasthanmeaslongasI’mcomfortablewithmyownlife，aslongasIhavefoodonmyplate，aroofovermyhead，achancetobeeducatedandsomesenseofsecurity。AndI’mprettysuremostpeopleinthemiddleclasswouldn’tcarehowrichpeoplefromupperclassare。Perhapsatintofjealousnesscanbesensedbutgreediswithinourhumannature，nothingtobetakentooseriouslyabout。Sotherealevilhereisn’tthegap，themathematicalrangeofwealth，butunsatisfiedbasicneeds。Povertyisdoingalltheharm。
　　Solvingpovertyiswhatweneedtofocusoninstead。Satisfyingbasicneedsistherealgoalhere。Ithinkweshouldeliminatethelowerclassbyshiftingeveryoneinthelowerclasstothemiddleclass。Youmightask，howcanamiddleclassstillbemiddleifthere’snothingbeneath？WhenItalkaboutuppermiddleorlower，I’mnotreferringtoitsrelativeplaceonaverticalscale。I’mtalkingaboutastatusoflife。EspeciallyifyoulookatChina，alowerclassermightbeapeasantwhoearnsafewhundredYuanperyearandhassoybeanandriceforlunch。Amiddleclasserissomeonelikeme，withallthenecessitiescoveredandcanaffordluxuriesonlysometimes。Say，onedayallthepeasantinChinabecomemiddleclassers，wouldthatmakemefeellikeapeasant？Idoubtit。
　　Youmightsay，heydon’tfoolme！Wheredoesallthemoneycomefromifwearetosolvepoverty？Thoughtaxation。Arewebacktowherewestarted？Robbingtherichtopaythepoor？Kindof，butnotexactlythesame。Weallknowthatwealthisconstant，tomakethepoorrichermustmeanmakingtherichpoorer。Butourgoalissolvingpoverty，andinthisprocess，wenarrowthewealthgaptosomeextent。Thenarrowingofwealthgapsisonlytheresultofsolvingpoverty，itselfaloneisneverthegoal。ThereisadifferenceandIshallexplainit。
　　Solvingpovertyisanactionwelljustifiedandbenefitsall。Whenalargeportionofthepopulationisunderextremepoverty，thesocietyishighlyunstable。Oncethebottomfeedersrealizethatalltheirwayshavebeenblocked，theywillrebelandliterallyfucktheirwaythroughsocietycausingunnecessarydamages。It’sthegovernment’sdutytoappeasetheseangrymenbyofferingthemnecessities。Ifthewealthypeoplecanthinkstraight，they’dbehappytopaytaxestosponsorthegovernment。It’sforthegreatergoodonthelongrun。Becauseonceriotsbreak，andtheworldisincompletechaos，thewealthypeoplecan’tmaintaintheirwealthandunderjungleethics，theymightdoverypoorly。It’sliketheconstitution。Citizensgaveupsomefreedomwillinglyinexchangeforprotectionandsecurity。Wealthypeoplemakesomesacrificesforlowerrisksoflosingtheirwealth。Tithasnothingtodowithfairness。
　　Narrowingwealthgapsandredistributingwealthjustforthesakeofbeingequalissomethingverydifferent。Beingequalisnevertheresponsibilityofthegovernmentbecausetakingstufffromtherichtopaythepoorisnotheroic，it’spiratic。Suchactionsshouldn’tbetolerated。Mtheyhiredpeasantstocultivatetheirlandbygivingthemaportionofcropearnings。Thecommunistscouldnotstandthis，theydecidedtoredistributelandandwealth。Mygrandmaandherentirefamilywerestrippedfromeverything。Theydidn’tevengettokeepablanketforthewinter。Mygreatgreatgrandpawasexecutedforbeingalandlord。Therestofthefamilywentoffbeggingonthestreet。It’sasadstory。Richpeoplearen’they’remerelybetterplayersinareallifechessgame。Ican’tseehowrobbingthemsothateveryonecanbeequalshouldbeallowed。
　　Besides，absoluteequalityisimpossible。Evenifonedayeveryonehastheexactsameamountofcoins，whataboutlooks？Isitfairthatsomegirlsareprettierandsomeguysarecuterthantherest？No。Whatdowehavetodoifwewantequality？Shouldthegovernmentpassalawallowingustopoursulfuricacidovertheirfaces？