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Income inequality in America has been growing rapidly, and is expected to increase [PDF]. While the widening wealth gap is a hot topic in the media and on the campaign trail, there's quite a disconnect between the perceptions of economists and those of the general public.
For instance, surveys show people tend to underestimate the income disparity between the top and bottom 20% of Americans, and overestimate the opportunity for poor individuals to climb the social ladder. Additionally, a majority of adults believe that corporations conduct business fairly despite evidence to the contrary and that the government should not act to reduce income inequality.
Even though inequality is increasing, Americans seem to believe that our social and economic systems work exactly as they should. This perspective has intrigued social scientists for decades. My colleague Andrei Cimpian and I have demonstrated in our recent research that these beliefs that our society is fair and just may take root in the first years of life, stemming from our fundamental desire to explain the world around us.
http://theconversation.com/lifes-not-fair-so-why-do-we-assume-it-is-45981
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bob_super on Thursday September 10 2015, @06:47PM
Without the illusion of fairness, the whole social contract is in danger:
The poor don't have to behave, they'll never get anywhere
The middle can scrape a living, but should cheat at all times to enjoy whatever they can put their paws on, until they get caught by an arbitrary rule and fall. Behaving well does not allow them to escape the arbitrary rules or the poor, and is therefore a liability.
The rich hide in their castles and keep on grabbing everything their power allows them to, as long as they can keep enough guards.