Sunday musings

This weekend I'm taking a foray into the print media, and two things have got my goat. Firstly, the Archbishop of Canterbury has expressed concerns about growing wealth inequalities:

He said that the disproportionate gap between rich and poor was causing envy and cynicism and that government ministers should be “a little more worried” about the high salaries of City high-flyers

Please, can someone explain this to me. The last time I check envy was a sin:

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house; neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his." Exodus (20:17)

When I read the Sunday Times Rich List I do feel somewhat jealous of the wealth that's been accumulated. In many cases the economist in me reminds me that economic exchange is positive sum, and therefore their wealth has more likely increased my quality of life, than detracted from it. I also remember that most people work bloody hard for their wealth, and are highly skilled. Put simply, I wouldn't be able to do what they do even if I had the opportunity (which, of course, I do). But there's also those who've inherited their wealth, or come across it in some other fortuitous means. Again, it's easy to feel envious, but I remind myself that their wealth might be a mixed blessing. It looks a good deal in the glossy pages of a Sunday magazine but is money the root of happiness? If you think of the pressures and woe that so many of those people have to face, I don't think it's an unambiguous dilemma. Those who do seem quite content, but have just been born into a title, or born into an easy life - I don't even envy them, because I'm richer than the majority of the planet, and the majority of human history - as we all are. So yes, there is this slight tinge of envy as I read the Rich List, but it doesn't last long.

That's my secular, anti-theistic/agnostic worldview operating. I would have thought a Christian would find it even easier to cope with envy. But what do we see? The Archbishop of Canterbury positively encouraging it! He's propagating the myth that "high net worth" in a financial sense equates to "high net worth" in a moral one. He's not only validating people's envy, he's campaigning for the State to reward it. If you're neighbour comes home with a new ox - one that's bigger and better than yours = the State should confiscate it and give it to you. Incredible.

And secondly, why has every news flash on 5 Live this afternoon been telling me that some petrol stations in Scotland have started to run out of petrol? I was quietly minding my own business, oblivious to events in a separate country, but have been repeatedly told not to panic. What does one do when someone keeps telling you not to panic? Put it this way - I have about half a tank of petrol which should last about a week.

• If local petrol stations were able to anticipate a possible shortage and begin to ration existing stocks through a price rise, it wouldn't be worth me filling up. I'd figure that even if it takes more than a week to sort out, I'll just get the train into work. I'd leave my car in the garage.
• If, on the other hand, local petrol stations don't raise their prices, then it'd be sensible for me to fill up just in case. That means less petrol for you.

We thus see a self-fulfilling prophecy, brought about by (i) a hysterical media looking for a crisis; (ii) a government that at the hint of a move away from "ideal conditions" reduces the scope for markets to allocate resources; (iii) a general public who's negative attitude towards "profiteering" underlies the entire situation. So let me get this off my chest:

Dear People of Hertfordshire,
The reason that I have contributed to a possible petrol shortage by filling up my car even though I don't really need to is because we're ignoring Econ 101. If prices are free to fluctuate there cannot be a shortage. No-one likes to see the price of something rise, and it's tempting to believe that preventing this from happening will cure the underlying problem. But it won't. When a petrol station needs to replace it's fuel it must do so in the current market conditions, therefore if fuel becomes scarcer, the stuff in his forecourt is more valuable. By raising his price people that don't really need it - people like ME - won't buy it, and there'll be some available for those that really do. He doesn't owe us petrol at yesterday's price. We don't have a right over his property.
If you happen to waste your time queuing for petrol, or if you become massively inconvenienced because of a shortage, please help to avoid it happen again and support profiteering
Ever,
aje

Comments

[Jim]

"which, of course, I do"

'of course'? Do you think opportunities are equally distributed?

[aje]

I've got no idea how to answer that question. How do you measure 'opportunities'? The point I was making is that I don't blame any 'lack of opportunity' for not being a millionaire, and am probably not willing or able to make the sacrifices that seriously wealthy make. More generally, I do feel that compared to other economic systems freedom has a great capacity to reward innovation and hard work. If I was an ambitious entrepreneur I'd rather be born in Toxteth or Anacostia than Pyongyang or Havana.