RickWhite
Well-Known Member
I often here claims that the top 1% of Americans posses 90% of the wealth. The numbers vary but this raises the question of what is wealth and where does it come from.
It seems that many view wealth as if it were a natural resource that certain people hoard and keep from others. But, if you look at what wealth really is, wealth is something that people produce. It is not a resource that belongs to the masses, it is the product of ones actions and ones labor. Wealth is therefore not finite but infinite to a large extent. Even if one literally had all the money in the world he would have to spend it in exchange for the goods and services produced by others. Every able bodied man has the ability to create wealth with little more than enough food to fuel his muscles and brain.
Looking at wealth as a product and not as a resource, many popular arguments fall flat on their face. Specifically the argument that Capitalism is unfair because group X has Y amount of "the wealth." There is no such thing as "the wealth" only wealth. So, while it may be true that group X possesses much more wealth, there is no percentage that can be ascribed because in order to have a percentage you need a base number which in this case is irrational.
Arguments of oppression of minorities also fall on their face. Yes it is true that if you refuse to hire minorities they will have a harder time building wealth than others. But this does not stop them from creating their own wealth. The largest employer in the US is the small business and many of these business' are built from the ground up so building one's own wealth is not insurmountable.
So the next time you hear an argument that points to control of "the wealth" as proof of anything, remind the person that the term "the wealth" is a misnomer and there is actually no such thing. People create wealth, it is not a limited resource.
It seems that many view wealth as if it were a natural resource that certain people hoard and keep from others. But, if you look at what wealth really is, wealth is something that people produce. It is not a resource that belongs to the masses, it is the product of ones actions and ones labor. Wealth is therefore not finite but infinite to a large extent. Even if one literally had all the money in the world he would have to spend it in exchange for the goods and services produced by others. Every able bodied man has the ability to create wealth with little more than enough food to fuel his muscles and brain.
Looking at wealth as a product and not as a resource, many popular arguments fall flat on their face. Specifically the argument that Capitalism is unfair because group X has Y amount of "the wealth." There is no such thing as "the wealth" only wealth. So, while it may be true that group X possesses much more wealth, there is no percentage that can be ascribed because in order to have a percentage you need a base number which in this case is irrational.
Arguments of oppression of minorities also fall on their face. Yes it is true that if you refuse to hire minorities they will have a harder time building wealth than others. But this does not stop them from creating their own wealth. The largest employer in the US is the small business and many of these business' are built from the ground up so building one's own wealth is not insurmountable.
So the next time you hear an argument that points to control of "the wealth" as proof of anything, remind the person that the term "the wealth" is a misnomer and there is actually no such thing. People create wealth, it is not a limited resource.
