Inequality and Morality

A recent study that looked at data related to country-scale inequality, national economic activity and development, and answers to survey questions about subjects’ sense of control over their lives, how much they trust other people, and whether they believe success is zero-sum, found that folks in less-equal societies tend to feel they have less control over their lives, and that this sense of not having control correlates with an acceptance of (what they consider to be) unethical behaviors.

In essence, then, after slamming together a bunch of information from three massive datasets (with info from nearly every country on the planet, gathered between 1950 and 2014), these researchers found that people who live in circumstances in which they feel they have less control over their own destiny, usually for economic reasons, are more likely to say that, for instance, accepting or offering a bribe, or not paying a fare on public transit is okay.

The researchers behind this new study posit, based on their findings, that even within economically stratified societies, as long as there’s a clear and real way of moving up the ladder—of improving one’s circumstances—societal ethical strictures will tend to be honored; folks may feel like they are a part of the system, not a victim of it, even if they’re near the bottom, currently.