We illustrate how the desire to live in a fair society that rewards individual effort and hard work triggers an unselfish though rational demand for redistribution. This leads the well off to prefer higher taxes and the poor to reject extreme progressivity. We then provide evidence of these...

Merit and justice / Amartya Sen -- Equality of opportunity / John E. Roemer -- IQ trends over time: intelligence, race, and meritocracy / James R. Flynn -- Genes, culture, and inequality / Marcus W. Feldman, Sarah P. Otto, and Freddy B. Christiansen -- Schooling, intelligence, and income in...

In this short essay, I argue that the pursuit of equality beyond equality before the law and a generous safety net is to be resisted. That pursuit tends to produce impoverishment and repression. And it is at odds with the pursuit of excellence, beauty, individuality, and achievement. A state of...