I'm not a philosopher but I could contribute this from some years back:
Plato on social inequality
EDITOR,--"In Britain inequality is spiralling out of control," Peter
Townsend writes as the subtitle of his editorial,1 published in
juxtaposition to an editorial carrying the subtitle "Homelessness is
an avoidable cause of ill health."2 It may be salutary to take into
consideration the views of Plato, writing in the 4th century BC on the
topic of inequality in the distribution of wealth.3
The form of law which I should propose as the natural sequel would be
as follows: In a state which is desirous of being saved from all
plagues--not faction but rather distraction--there should exist among
the citizens neither extreme poverty, nor, again, excess of wealth,
for both are productive of both these evils. Now the legislator should
determine what is to be the limit of poverty or wealth. Let the limit
of poverty be the value of the lot; this ought to be preserved, and no
ruler, nor any one else who aspires after a reputation for virtue,
will allow the lot to be impaired in any case. This the legislator
gives as a measure, and he will permit a man to acquire double or
triple, or as much as four times the amount of this.
Honorary consultant in clinical genetics Department of Clinical
Genetics, Oxford Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital, Oxford OX3 7LJ
G R Fraser
1. Townsend P. The rich man in his castle. BMJ 1994;309:1674-5.
(24-31 December.) [Free Full Text]
2. Heath I. The poor man at his gate. BMJ 1994;309:1675-6. (24-31
December.) [Free Full Text]
3. Laws, v 744(d). The dialogues of Plato. Vol IV. 4th ed. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1953:313-4. (Jowett B, translator.)
Fraser, G. R. (1995). "Plato on social inequality." BMJ 310: 528.
Seems the proportion of wealth that a man might acquire today is close
to a million million to one, or perhaps more? ($50 billion is near
the top versus someone a few hundred thousand in debt as the value of
the lot). No wonder democracy doesn't work.
STephen
Stephen Bezruchka
Senior Lecturer
Departments of Health Services & Global Health
School of Public Health
University of Washington
Box 357660
Seattle, Washington 98195-7660,
USA
(206)616-2901, Fax (206)685-4184
http://depts.washington.edu/hserv/faculty/?Bezruchka_Stephen
http://depts.washington.edu/eqhlth/
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