The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Poorer - David Schmidtz

Philosophy professor David Schmidtz examines the statement, "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." He says this assumes that society is a zero sum game, so the only way for some to win is for others to lose. Prof. Schmidtz argues that wealth doesn't have to be a fixed pie, where a larger slice for one person automatically means smaller slices for everyone else, because when societies grow richer, the whole pie grows bigger. He argues that society is not have to be zero sum-- we should aim to live in societies where one person winning makes everyone else better off too. In other words, we should be less concerned with making sure everyone's share of the pie is equal, and more concerned with living in a society where everyone's slices grow larger, and no one has to live in poverty. This video is part of a series about basic philosophical questions on the subject of equality, and is also part of a larger series on foundational topics in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). Videos in the series feature six professors who teach in university PPE programs. Watch the rest of the videos in the Equality playlist here:    • Equality - Philosophy, Politics, and Econo...   Watch all 23 videos in the PPE series here:    • Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) ...   For additional PPE curriculum resources, including suggestions for further readings on each topic, visit our website: https://theihs.org/ppe/ Subscribe to our channel to see upcoming videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheIHSorg?s... The Institute for Humane Studies supports and partners with professors to promote the teaching and research of classical liberal ideas and to advance higher education’s core purpose of intellectual discovery and human progress. About Us: https://theihs.org/who-we-are/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/theihs?lang=en Facebook:   / instituteforhumanestudies   LinkedIn:   / instituteforhumanestudies   Instagram:   / theihs