“Inequality is the root of social evil.”
— Pope Francis, alleged communist, radical leftist and naive, economic simpleton who regularly (naively?) reads a rather radical book, in a tweet
“Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.”
James 5: 1-6
* * * *
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
— James 2: 1-7
* * * *
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, ‘God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,
‘God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.’
— James 4: 1-6
* * * *
So your Jitterbug thought for the day is, if inequality is NOT the root of social evil, what is at root, according to thou?
This is a complex question. Complete equality in material possessions is impossible, at least here on Earth. Further, if one removes the incentive factor involved with paying talented people more money, in some case, astronomical sums of money, for doing things that require very involved skills, knowledge or talents, often honed over many years, society may simply end up without the skills, knowledge or talents that those individuals have to offer.
That said, I think the root of social evil is the willful decision not to use the gifts God gives each of us for the good of society. As a Catholic, I look to the example of St. Katherine Drexel. She was born into great wealth, yet spent her life helping others, establishing a religious order and ministering to others, especially underprivileged minorities. We all have something to offer those around us; it’s up to us to use those gifts in a way that benefits not just ourselves, but our fellow man, as well.