Go, Economy!

[icarusfall]

Maybe it'd be better to describe it as a reverse pyramid scheme?

[Anthony]

There are diminishing returns to money, it is very feasible we will reach a point where everyone can get almost everything they want, material wise.

[Gooch]

It'll be sustained because there'll always be a lower class. If everyone were at least millionaires there'd be squillionaires trying to get their million.

I can't think of a time in history when this structure was not present. It is far more tolerable today than in its previous incarnations.

There are diminishing returns to money, it is very feasible we will reach a point where everyone can get almost everything they want, material wise.

How will we get these things? With what will we transact? And what will you pay your taxes in? Money is just numbers, on a spreadsheet, on a piece of paper, on a nice looking token.

[icarusfall]

Money is just part of the social contract.

[Hero]

It'll be sustained because there'll always be a lower class. If everyone were at least millionaires there'd be squillionaires trying to get their million.

If this weren't so overshadowed with hints of "omg, the rich must have a lower class to prey on, that's why we can't all laugh and dance and sing in perfect harmony" I'd be inclined to agree.

See, there are people who have work that has higher states of value than others. Be it intrinsicly (some jobs are in higher demand/more vital), or because of its 'cost' to produce (going to school isn't free). So yeah...some people get paid more because it should be a reflection of the worth of that labor.

While some jobs are vital, maybe the barrier for entry is low, or the labor supply is high. Some jobs aren't important in the grand scheme of things, and anyone working in a dead-end job would be better off looking to improve their labor's worth, than spin stories how they can't because The Man did done them wrong. In short, these are elements that create the lower class as well, not just some en masse exploitation or oppression.

So yeah...there will always be a lower class for a myriad of reasons. Truly corruption and exploitation play their parts, but so does uneducation, unambition, and laziness.

It's amazing how people quip psuedo-intellectual that God and religion are the opiates of the masses. I see victimhood, class warfare, and apathy doing that job quite well.

[icarusfall]

I can't think of a time in history when this structure was not present. It is far more tolerable today than in its previous incarnations.

Exactly why I refer to it as a reverse pyramid. It doesn't matter how much progress we make if we don't Mind The Gap.

[icarusfall]

I'm an unashamed class warrior.

Also: No job is important in the grand scheme of things. You are never a beautiful snowflake.

[Gooch]

Doctors, engineers, scientists are all pretty important. Teachers, too. There are more I'm not mentioning obviously.

[icarusfall]

Every opinion expressed on the economy in this thread is valid since it exists outside of (and in spite of) us. I do my best in an adversarial role, so it's how I approach my life.

[Gooch]

Sounds like your worst enemy then may be yourself.