```dv dv.paragraph(("https://jimr.fyi/" + dv.currentFilePath.replace(/\.md$/, "").replace(/ /g, "+"))) ``` wealth class and social mobility - an opportunity-rich society Equity of capacity — a society that ensures everyone can build a good life with their own mix of strengths, without being crushed by where they started. [[pre conditions for true opportunity]] #### Society's Role in Inequality - Society must value contribution and balance over accumulation - `money ≠ virtue` and `disadvantage ≠ bad choices` - in societies not valuing true opportunity, economic class usually becomes identity #### Class's Role in Inequality - It's class not character: the system rewards certain behaviors not because they’re morally better — but because they reflect the cultural norms of the dominant class - Class = inherited script for how to navigate the world (a pattern of habits, values, speech, taste, posture, expectations) - Rich kids: often inherit confidence, comfort with institutions, a sense of control over outcomes, and soft skills that are prized in higher-paying work. - rich parents :model:, :teach:, :normalize: advantage - Poor kids: might inherit resilience, adaptability, and tight community bonds, but not always the behaviors that are rewarded in dominant systems. - generational poverty passes down survival strategies that can look like dysfunction in middle-class systems. - class influences - Language patterns - Conflict styles - Sense of entitlement or agency - How to talk to authority - What risk feels like - What failure means - Whether you're expected to own property, go to therapy, or start a business #### Freedom - inequality limits an individual's freedom - ensuring equal outcomes, or even equal opportunity, constrains freedoms - true equality may cost us true liberty - how much inequality are we willing to tolerate in the name of freedom? - too much inequality = societal and moral instability - how much state intervention are we willing to accept in the name of fairness? - too much state control = coercion, cultural assimilation - Risk and Failure as Expressions of Self-Sovereignty - a free society doesn't prevent its citizens from choosing to starve to death #### The Disadvantages of Being Poor - access to resources - Generational Poverty - healing from trauma - Chronic stress — reshapes decision-making, limits bandwidth - Time scarcity — for parenting, planning, or healing - Cultural narratives — shame, blame, internalized worthlessness - Relational instability — less access to stable networks - Environmental drag — unsafe housing, poor transit, toxic neighborhoods - Invisible taxes — higher prices for being poor (e.g., payday loans, fees, credit, food deserts) - If your parents _never_ trusted a bank, a boss, or a government, you probably won’t either #### Removing Disadvantages - equal access to resources: early childhood, education, job training, healthcare - Universal basic income: Stabilizes families across generations. Gives time for education, parenting, healing #### The Advantages of Being Born Rich - modeled behaviors, worldviews, attitudes, and expectations of a wealthy class - Wealth inheritance: (real estate, trusts, stocks, businesses) - Elite networks: (school, jobs, social capital) - Insulation from risk: (healthcare, legal support, “second chances”) - Better time, attention, and stress bandwidth in childhood #### Accounting for Advantages - Reduce Advantage of Inherited Wealth - 1% annual tax on personal assets - 95% inheritance tax - remove private options early childhood, education, job training, healthcare. we are in this together to help our community members thrive #### What Societies Maximize Freedom And Nurture Well-Being, Without Forcing Uniformity | Society Type | View on Freedom | View on Fairness/Equality | Role of the State | Cultural Autonomy | Inheritance Policy | Outcome Mobility | Freedom | Well-being | Cultural Diversity | Mobility | State Overreach | Comments | | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ---------- | ------------------ | -------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Libertarian| Maximize individual liberty | Fairness = non-interference | Minimal — protect property, contracts | High — parents free to shape kids | Full inheritance allowed | Very low (birth = destiny) | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | Max freedom, minimal safety or fairness | | Liberal (U.S.)| Freedom with minimal social safety | Fairness = opportunity, not outcome | Moderate — regulates markets, provides aid | Moderate — values mostly private | Inheritance taxed lightly | Moderate to low | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2–3 | 2 | High variance; freedom but inequality | | Social Democratic (Nordic)| Freedom + strong safety net | Fairness = equal life chances | High — universal services, redistributive | Medium — strong public norms | High inheritance taxed | High (but still some stickiness) | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | Well-being + mobility, some cultural norms enforced | | Technocratic Egalitarian| Balance liberty + outcomes | Fairness = outcomes & structure | Very high — data-driven resource allocation | Low — standardized values pushed | Inheritance limited/eliminated | Very high (engineered mobility) | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | High fairness, but culture flattens | | Communitarian| Freedom within moral boundaries | Fairness = harmony, shared duty | Local/state mix — based on shared values | Medium — guided by tradition | Varies — tied to community | Moderate (varies by cohesion) | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | Shared values foster well-being, but some conformity | | Authoritarian| Freedom subordinate to control | Fairness = stability, order | Extreme — controls opportunity & culture | Low — values imposed top-down | Often manipulated or restricted | Low (mobility by loyalty/power) | 1 | 2–4 | 1 | 1–2 | 5 | Maybe secure, but tightly controlled | | Micro Society (from docs) | Maximize individual autonomy within collective support | Fairness = everyone guaranteed basic needs + flexible opportunity | No central state; governance is direct and local (community level) | High — diverse personal choices encouraged within shared systems | Likely supports inheritance, but deemphasizes wealth accumulation via collective structure | High — basic needs met + distributed learning creates real upward capacity | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4–5 | 2 | Balances personal choice with communal guarantees. Avoids uniformity by allowing flexible task systems and private property alongside collective infrastructure. Technocratic-democratic hybrid. | - Personal freedom: Can people live how they want, express values, make choices? - Well-being: Health, education, economic security, stability - Cultural diversity: Can different value systems coexist and persist? - Social mobility: Can people change class or status across generations? - State overreach: Does the government interfere with private life or thought?