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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: 3, Insightful) by The Archon V2.0 on Thursday September 10 2015, @08:15PM
> Which religions teach that?
Having a religious need for something isn't the same as making it an explicit part of doctrine.
That said, it occasionally crops up in less sophisticated apologetics when the problem of evil is approached (though not half as much as "Satan did it"). The number of people who can't elaborate on their faith any deeper than concepts like panglossian theodicy or Pascal's Wager are sadly common.
(Score: 2) by Zinho on Thursday September 10 2015, @08:51PM
Good point. We desperately need a "sad but true" mod option. I'll settle for "insightful" on this one.
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