Imagine waking up tomorrow morning to find, let’s say, a mad sorcerer had cast a spell over the entire world in which every adult made the same amount of money for working the same number of hours under equivalent conditions and given the same vacation time, sick days, etc., lived in equivalent housing, drove equivalent vehicles and whose children attended equivalent schools. How long would things stay that way? Probably—not long.
The trouble is, some people are smarter, or faster, or more ambitious, etc., than others. So, some people would find ways to work longer hours, or to work more efficiently, or to start another business, or to invest rather than spend income that others used, for example, for recreation, etc., some would get away with cheating; some would not. So, almost over night, things would begin to change. Most people would accept this. We all have different priorities, different expectations, different values. Some people, quite simply, will settle for less, while for others there is no such thing as enough. Weeks pass. Months. Years, probably. Chances are, at some point, society will again look the way it does today. The difference would be that those who stood to benefit financially from inheritance before the sorcerer struck would not have that unfair advantage to propel them. They would have to earn their way in fair competition. Some would succeed, some would fail. So, while society would eventually look pretty much the same as it does today, not everybody would occupy the same positions they do today. Wouldn’t you know it, the Greeks are right again. character IS fate, usually. —Blog dedicated to my brother, Jim, on his 76th birthday, 10/06/2018.
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AuthorPrize-winning journalist and teacher of English, history and philosophy who now lives on Harstine Island, Washington, with his wife, Dee. Father of two daughters and five grandchildren, all smart and beautiful beyond description, of course. Books
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