Is this an efficient system?

[mswintz]

It’s pretty common knowledge that the rich get richer. Some statistics say that the top 1% of people have more wealth than the bottom 50%. It seems that wealth follows a similar system to natural selection in the wild where only the strongest get the best resources.
My question:
Is this the sign of a bad system? Or is this an efficient system where the people who work the hardest and produce the most have their fair share?

 

[MoreSuccess]

Good topic. I think it's a system that is not bad, however seems to need better rules. The extremely wealthy have too many loopholes and ability to protect and grow their wealth the rest of us lack. But there needs to be incentives for people to do more than just work hard and produce.

 

[denydritz]

I say it's a mixture of both a bad and efficient system. I believe that some mechanics of the society we live in is not 'fair' in terms of not properly educating, acknowledging, and rewarding each individual's unique abilities. But it's not completely by design as there is some room to achieve success as long as we focus on it.

There are laws that describe this phenomenon. Bob Proctor calls it the Razor's Edge (winner takes the biggest share), and Peter Thiel calls it the Power Law (most success concentrates in a certain area). Even so, I would say that right now it leans more towards a 'bad' system than an efficient one, because in the current system, it's still possible for someone who 'cheats' to achieve 'success' (become rich).

 

[DreamLifeRules]

I think, knowledge is what makes the difference. That 1% people, know something, that 50% at the bottom don´t. In my opinion, not anyone can be at top 1%, but with a good knowledge, self-education, effort, all of us could have better financial results (If it´s a goal).
I think second thing, once those top 1% gain their knowledge, was that they never give up of their dreams. And in today´s society, that attitude is for my opinion very rare.

 

[neo_the_chosen_one]

hey,
In my opinion this system, good or bad is necessary for our survival and development as a human race. It's because of the difference that the people get motivation to 'do' something. Someone sees an accomplished man and wants to earn Name/Fame like him. Some other noble man sees a difficulty of a underprivileged man and wants to do something. The noblest mind sees a problem and tries to discover or invent things to solve it. Under all these selfish or noble motives lies that fundamental urge to be/do better than something/someone ordinary that already existed.
Yes it is true that rich keep getting richer and smallest percentage of population keep biggest percentage of wealth. It is debatable whether they just exploited those who were hardworking or that they worked really hard for themselves and for those around but one thing is crystal clear, "People rarely get rich out of sheer luck".
Whether its opportunistic mind, cunning mind or leadership, there's hard work behind the curtains. We can't deny that.

-Neo

 

[ChaseE]

It follows the law of nature 80:20. 80% of the world's wealth is held by 20% of the people. 80% of the earth is water and 20% is land. 80% of your results come from 20% of your work.

The formula is everywhere. It's just the math of our existence. Now is it a good system or not? I think there are aspects that need to be fixed. The way that money flows into Wall Street doesn't help a lot of other American's. Money isn't supposed to be hoarded. It needs to flow!