Less poverty vs. More equity
Which one to choose for your country?
In global politics there are two main objectives: to end poverty and have an egalitarian society. Various paths have been proposed to reach those objectives.
To better understand these objectives I have googled which is the country with the lowest poverty index and which is the one with the lowest Gini Coefficient. Discovering that they are Taiwan and Iceland, respectively.
I collected some statistics to better compare these two countries, resulting in this chart:
Observing these data we can reason several conclusions:
- I can say with total certainty that social equality is a direct consequence of economic well-being.
- The economic and social indicators are among the highest in the world.
- The welfare of society must be in the hands of each individual, if that task is entrusted to a central entity the opposite result is obtained.
“A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.”
Milton Friedman
- Economic openness is the basis for individual and social development, as can be seen in the Index of Economic Freedom.
- Definition of social equity: all individuals who are part of a society have the same opportunities, rights and obligations. Not the same economic situation.
This is the final equation:
Conclusion
The final equation is clear.
The long-sought social equality is not achieved by taxing the portion of the population with greater wealth. If any government in the world wants an egalitarian society, it must give it the opportunity to develop itself.
The more freedom that is delivered, the greater the return in welfare.
