Re: Question re: inequality

On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 07:32:16 GMT, Mason C <masonc2@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>On Fri, 18 Nov 2005 09:27:13 -0600, "Jim Blair" <jeb@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>But a question for you. Earlier I recall a claim that "inequality promotes
>>instability". The USA has a lot more inequality than France doesn't it? So
>>why are thousands of cars being burned in France but not in the US?
>>
>We burned ours a few years ago. Remember Watts?
>
>Clearly the matter is not simple. A "diffuse" inequality and a
>"concentrated" inequality are different.
>
>We had (have?) a black inequality and we had the Watts riot, not
>to mention others -- Detroit etc.
>
>The French have a specific, concentrated equality in the Muslim
>fringes of the cities.
>
>Obviously "inequality promotes instability" is a fact. "Promotes"
>does not mean "causes." The causes are multiple and the
>inequality is complex, as is the instability.
>
>Do you deny that inequality promotes instability?
>
> Mason C

Yes. It's a misconceived question.

Inequality is inevitable. For any given circumstance there is
an *equilibrium* inequality. (This inequality is metastable.
"Meta-" because something may trigger its collapse.)

What promotes instability is not inequality as such but the
presence of an *unstable* inequality. Having closed that
circle, what cause instability is:

1. a *localized and highly perceptible inequality*; for
example the Muslim communities in France and -- from
time to time -- the black communities in the U.S.A.

2. a *growing inequality* which frightens people as it
should in the U.S.A. today -- my opinion.

3. an *extreme inequality* as generally in the world today
in a world of global knowledge interchange. The French
Revolution is an example on a smaller scale.

Mason C

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Question re: inequality
    ... Watts, Dertoit, Kansas City etc, were long ago when inequality in the US was ... >>The French have a specific, ... France reported that they saw less racism ... >>inequality is complex, as is the instability. ...
    (sci.econ)
  • Re: Question re: inequality
    ... The USA has a lot more inequality than France doesn't it? ... concentrated equality in the Muslim ... inequality is complex, as is the instability. ...
    (sci.econ)
  • Re: Question re: inequality
    ... Remember Watts? ... >Watts, Dertoit, Kansas City etc, were long ago when inequality in the US was ... >>>The French have a specific, ... >>>inequality is complex, as is the instability. ...
    (sci.econ)