Thank God we are unequal!

By: Hugo Marcelo Balderrama - 04/05/2026

Guest columnist.
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Any average student of Economics or Political Science in the West, at some point in their career, will have to learn the "bad" aspects of material inequality, since the academic hegemony of universities has turned equality into its indisputable dogma.

The idea of ​​a community where everyone is equal in economic resources is a product of tribal remnants that still linger among us. Much of this is transmitted in academia through theories like Marxism, in all its variations, or the Gini Index, whose objective is to promote state policies to reduce material inequalities between population groups.

But is it true that economic inequality is so bad?

Poverty is the natural condition of humankind, because we come from the most miserable circumstances. That is to say, in the beginning we are all equal; however, remaining in that condition would have meant the extinction of the species. This confronted our ancestors with the first great economic rule: scarcity.

However, we humans are endowed with a wonderful gift: the ability to create. Some discovered that certain stones could be shaped to store and collect water. Others used wood and sticks for hunting and fishing. A third group realized that fire could be made by rubbing two branches together.

At that time, those who were more creative than the rest achieved two things: 1) they increased the standard of living for the entire species, and 2) they created inequality, since they are now much richer than their peers.

This leads us to a fundamental truth that many sociologists, political scientists, and economists refuse to accept: if we are allowed to act freely, this creative diversity will express itself in many ways, from how we dress and behave to our income. Therein lies the absurdity of striving for absolute equality when nature has made us all so unequal, a condition reinforced by our cultural and familial environments.

But the rhetoric in favor of equality conceals something more dangerous: the seeds of tyranny. Any attempt to make us equal will have to be done through violence, since that is the only way to suppress the material manifestations of our talents. That was the path followed by socialist projects in the last century and by Castro-Chavismo today.

Here we must address the great paradox of those who seek equality: they oppose material inequalities, yet they foster inequality in the use of violence, since some are left defenseless against the aggressions of those in power. In fact, Rousseau, the ideological forefather of Nazis and Marxists, said: "In the pursuit of the common good, there is no need to limit the power of the state."

That idea served as the basis for beheading bakers when the price of bread rose, although, ironically, the price of bread rose in direct proportion to the number of heads severed from their bodies. In Cuba, under the same pretext, bullets and clubs ensured that everyone was equally poor, except for the criminal elite who live in great luxury.

In conclusion, it is not true that an egalitarian society is moral; reality shows us that the opposite is true. Nations should not strive for equality, but for prosperity. This can only be achieved with institutional frameworks that respect private property and foster entrepreneurship. No to equality, yes to freedom.

«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».