> Too little inequality means there is nothing to strive for, the ambitious won’t have much reward to work for.
That kind of "ambition" is greed. There are other forms of currency that are arguably much more desired to a healthy society and don't go away in a more equal society: reputation, respect, intellectual authority, etc.
> There are other forms of currency that are arguably much more desired to a healthy society and don't go away in a more equal society: reputation, respect, intellectual authority, etc.
Those doesn't scale though, most jobs doesn't award you any of those. Money is the only real reward low status jobs has gotten ever, take that away and why would anyone wanna work low status jobs?
No, but if we build a society where inequality ceases to be an issue, jobs will stop rewarding greed and start rewarding whatever other currencies attract the best talent.
Similarly, entrepreneurship will be based on those currencies.
Money is a human construct. Inequality is a human construct. Neither are a requirement for the existence of humanity or for humans to thrive.
> if we build a society where inequality ceases to be an issue
Looking back through history, there's always jerks who ruin this, being equal isn't enough: either they want to have more money than, and power over, everyone else; or they explicitly want others to suffer, usually people who look different.
Dealing with those personalities has cost us trillions of dollars throughout human history, but it keeps happening, because you can't evolve better brains in the few thousand years humans have been civilized.
It's very interesting to see how people's imaginations are so captured by propaganda that they don't allow themselves to even consider that societies may be based on things other than money, profit and greed.
That kind of "ambition" is greed. There are other forms of currency that are arguably much more desired to a healthy society and don't go away in a more equal society: reputation, respect, intellectual authority, etc.