Who Killed Equality?

June 20 (Bloomberg) -- There are two main schools ofthought on income inequality: The fatalists, who contend thatrising inequality is the ineluctable result of a changingeconomy, and the redistributionists, who blame a skewed taxsystem and lethargic government. Perhaps it’s time to consider athird.

The fatalist case rests on technology: As we replace humantoil with networked computers and tireless robots, those who ownthe technology or learn to master it benefit, and those whosejobs are displaced by technology suffer. The ease with which weoutsource jobs, ship goods and videoconference to China helpspeople who own companies but hurts those whose jobs are shippedout. The winner-take-all economy is a boon to people who canmarket themselves or their product globally and a bust for thosewho can’t.