Amen. Amen. Amen.
I taught school during six decades. I observed wealthy, middle class, and poor parents. There were among all three groups ne'er-do-wells and kind/generous folk, disciplined workers and undisciplined sloths, entitled jerks and humble saints. I agree with Mailer's assessment. I'll take the the median poor citizen's ethics over the median millionaire's any day. I believe the free enterprise system, with safeguards for workers and progressive taxation, is the best economic system, but I have no patience for self-satisfied, entitled capitalists who believed it is possible for any one man to truly "earn" millions of dollars in a single year. While I accept that the the wealthy should have incentives for further economic entrepreneurship (I've had my own efforts at capitalism and revere my freedom to pursue those dreams) I believe any thoughtful wealthy person should realize that his success is dependent on much more than just his own labor, his own smarts, his own creativity.
No man is an island. It does take a village. Unless you are a hunter/gatherer hermit you depend on others as well as yourself. You did not build it by your self. Our founders were wise to base our republic on a balance of great personal liberty with attention to the common welfare. And, especially in a post agrarian society, extreme wealth disparity results in the loss of personal liberty and a deterioration of the common welfare.
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