Bits and Pieces

Meditations on Montaigne

42) L’Inégalité

We judge people by all the measures that matter least about them — the name of their school, but nothing about what they made of their education and whether it inspired them to continue learning; the size and location of their house instead of whether they live according to their means; artists by the receipts of their sales instead of how well they brought their visions to life.

Inequality among people is inevitable, but it is exacerbated by skewed values. The writer Joseph Heller, when once told that a certain billionaire made as much money in a day as all of his books, responded that he has something the billionaire will never appreciate: enough.

If we must have elitism, let the measures be what we thought and built, what we treasured and saved, and what we poured our hearts into. Let the wealthy be so afraid of governments confiscating their wealth that they live modestly, under the radar.