The lesser the people the stronger we will be.

Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, which mean liberty, equality and brotherhood, was the motto of the French Revolution and was adopted by the First Republic in 1790. Perhaps the French Revolution was the proof that there cannot be true equality and brotherhood. Maximilien Robespierre, the man who led the Revolution and was responsible for the execution of over 17,000 people by the guillotine, including Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, was himself guillotined in 1794 along with 21 of his followers. As top predators human beings are territorial, possessive, competitive and brutally oppressive. Perhaps, it is instinctive. All primates live in families and there is always an alpha male who leads the family and reacts violently to any insubordination. But surely democracy, where people choose who to represent them, ensures that everyone gets a fair share of resources and opportunities? Not if you see the fierce debate in the US about the ' makers ' who create wealth, in other words the rich, and the ' takers ' who do not pay federal income taxes. Right wing talking-heads say that it is unfair that the 53% who pay tax should bear the burden of the rest who do not. Liberals say that it is only because the system favors the rich while penalising the poor. The rich suffered the most in the Great Recession of 2008 but have recovered all their wealth while wages for workers have remained stagnant because of high unemployment and competition for jobs. The top 1% earned one-fifth of the country's income last year. From 2009-2012 earnings of the top 1% grew by 31.4% while that of the bottom 99% grew by a measly 0.4%. Thus the 1% captured 95% of growth in incomes. Also most of this wealth is from financial dealings which are non-productive and were responsible for the crash in the first place. In ' Das Kapital ' Karl Marx postulated that in a capitalist society a few people grow very rich on the labor of the masses who remain poor. Hence everything should be owned by the commune and private ownership would be banned. " From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." The collapse of the USSR proved conclusively that communism does not work. But does capitalism work? No according to Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Picketty who says that inequality is rising as only a few people control capital and scarce land. That is because of the basic law of supply and demand. The wealthy are multiplying their wealth based on the cheap labor from the explosive growth of poor people in developing countries. Globalisation has meant that capital can travel anywhere but not people. So as capital goes in search of cheap labor so rich countries are suffering. Reduce numbers to reduce inequality.