By Chrystia Freeland
Article Reprint
The one thing pretty much all of us agree on is the importance of equal opportunity. Opinion is divided about the significance of rising income inequality per se. Some see it as a problem in and of itself. But for others, a growing economic divide, so long as it is meritocratic, is a healthy characteristic of a growing, entrepreneurial society.
Nowadays, though, no one is in favor of a caste-based society. Income inequality is one thing, but a permanent division into the haves and have-nots is an entirely different thing – and much less acceptable.