Why is the gap between the rich and the poor? (The cause, human progress and poverty)

I'm writing because I think it would be good to post it with great inspiration from a book I read a while ago. I read a book called "Progress and Poverty" by Henry George. It's a topic that I've always been very interested in, so I really enjoyed reading it. This book gives me an experience of philosophically contemplating why the gap between the rich and the poor increases as society progresses.

From Public Domain

An original and persistent painting of the gap between the rich and the poor

Regardless of country or race, the problem that reaches all of humanity is the gap between the rich and the poor. The gap between the rich and the poor is not just a phenomenon, but an important issue that can shake the survival of all mankind. For example, if the gap between the rich and the poor is at its peak, and the poor or the country cannot tolerate their dissatisfaction, a war could happen today that threatens the survival of all mankind, which could lead to the destruction of all mankind.

 

Labor income gap widens in the 21st century

The percentage of Europe's upper-class income to a country's gross income was 45% before the world war, 35% during the world war, and 30% after the world war. There is little change in the share of labor income earned by the upper class during this period. The reason for the sharp decline around the time of the World War was the decline in capital income. In the war, capital gains in the upper class fell sharply, with the physical destruction of capital and inflation causing government bonds to fall into pieces.

 

In particular, unearned income earners have been hit hard. But the United States is a little different. Before the World War, the gap was smaller than in Europe, and the income share of the upper class was about 40%. After the world war, it reached about 35 percent and rose rapidly from the 1980s to about 50 percent in 2010. This is because of the emergence of high-paying executives and executives who are what Piketty calls super managers.

 

In the 21st century, the gap in labor income is growing. Income for those in the top 10% of the West is on the rise. From the 1950s to 1970, people with a gross income of the top 10% of their population were about 30% of their gross national income in the United States and Europe. But it's been rising since 1970. The gap in labor income that makes money is also widening.

 

This is the mystery that afflicts the civilized world. "Why does poverty happen where productivity is highest and wealth production is greatest?" We're going to solve this mystery now. The Malthus theory, which blamed poverty on declining productivity, does not explain this phenomenon. The theory is inconsistent with all the objective facts.

This poverty is clearly caused by institutional instability in human society, and it is absurd to blame it on God's providence like Malthus. We will now continue to demonstrate our reasoning as we move forward. In the process, the reason why poverty arises even though wealth continues to accumulate will naturally be revealed.

 

But if we look at the source of things and the natural relationship between them, this is the reversed order. Capital doesn't come first, it comes last. Capital is not a user of labor, it's actually employment by labor. In order for labor to be put in, there must first be land, and that's how capital is created only after labor is put in.

Capital is the result of labor, and it's used to help it produce more. Labor is an active first force and therefore becomes a user of capital. Labor can only be put into the land, and it is only possible to take out materials that can be transformed into wealth. So land is a prerequisite, a field where labor is put in, and a material. The natural order should be land, labor, and capital. We should start with land, not capital as a starting point for discussion.

 

The industrial recession seems to be coming all of a sudden. At first, it shows the characteristics of a seizure, and soon after, it reaches a state of lethargy that seems to be exhausted. Everything goes back to normal, and commerce and industry expand vigorously, and suddenly there's a shock like a thunderbolt in a dry sky.

Just as banks go bankrupt, big manufacturers and merchants go bankrupt, shocks spread throughout the industry, failure ensues, workers are laid off all over, and capital is reduced to unprofitable securities.

 

This redistribution of wealth is ultimately the role of each country's government, as the driving force behind human development rather creates a gap between the rich and the poor. Those who try hard to develop will be given the driving force to sustain development, and those who are behind will have to have an institutional mechanism to pat them on the side to prevent the gap between the rich and the poor.