We are born unequal. Justice makes us equal.

Thomas Piketty, a Professor at the Paris School of Economics is the latest heartthrob in economics. His book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, has generated enormous interest as well as anger. Since we do not have the knowledge to understand such abstruse economic theory with detailed mathematical analysis we have to be satisfied with a newspaper interview with the professor. Piketty has assembled vast amounts of data to show that inequality is increasing in the 21st century and will be the same as in the 19th century. The 2 great wars of the 20th century destroyed a large part of inherited wealth so the reconstruction that followed the wars brought a much more balanced economic growth in Europe. Now returns from capital is rising faster than return from labor, leading to an increase in inequality. He recommends a redistribution of wealth based on a high rate of tax on the rich. We beg to differ. This is precisely what the Congress did in the last 10 years when it has taxed us heavily to fund its handouts, such as the MGNREGA scheme costing around Rs 2.5 trillion, the Minimum Support Price paid for grains and waiving all loans to farmers at a cost of Rs 750 billion. But all that did was to increase fiscal deficit, reduce savings and increase inflation, leading to increased poverty and reduced growth. The trouble with clever professors is that they reduce economics to mathematics, ignoring biology which is at the basis of human behavior. We are all born unequal. The Tutsis in east Africa are the tallest people in the world while the Pygmies in the west are the shortest. Thus the Tutsies have an easy way to become rich playing basketball, which Pygmies cannot avail. Differences in intelligence is even more stark since only 1% of people have an IQ above 130. These are the people whose inventions improve our lives. If they are not rewarded adequately for their efforts they will stop trying and all progress will come to a halt. That is why communism was a total failure, whereas in the US inequality was celebrated as the ' Land of Opportunities ' because if you worked hard you could succeed. It was when bankers were paid bonuses while banks failed that the ' Occupy Wall Street ' movement was born. It is not just economic inequality that makes people unhappy. Yes, governments must ensure everyone has decent food, clothing, education, healthcare, security and opportunities for advancement but it is inequality in justice, where the powerful get away with crime, like Rathore got away with pedophilia, that makes people really unhappy. Nature made everyone unequal but we should be equal in opportunities and justice. Therein lies the secret.