Living with inequality: Ten principles

Natural selection is driven by variation. Plants, animals, humans. No two are alike. This is a source of joy when we admire the variegated beauty of nature. But it is often a source of moral consternation when we reflect on ourselves... But we do care that some human beings are smarter, more attractive, more desirable. And we especially care that some groups are...

... nature does not conform to our sense of fairness...

And when people first confront the idea that human populations might not be equal, the experience can resemble a kind of disillusionment...

But recognizing that human traits are not uniformly distributed is not an act of juvenile rebellion. It may even be a step toward a more mature, and more tolerant, understanding of humanity. An understanding that does not attribute every hardship to racism or sexism, nor every failure to some imagined moral defect in the individual...

Individuals differ in almost every measurable and immeasurable dimension. Some people are taller, faster, more intelligent or more pain-tolerant; others are shorter, slower, less intellectually gifted or less resilient. These differences have obvious social consequences...

Sexes are different. Like all sexually reproducing animals, humans are sexually dimorphic. The physical differences are obvious...

Races are different. Humans, like other animals, also differ across ancestral populations or races. Some physical differences—skin color, hair texture, facial structure—are obvious. Others like lactose tolerance or disease resistance, are not. And still others are so controversial that they are often denied and suppressed. In the United States and across the globe, races reliably differ in self-control, violent crime rates and cognitive ability...

Humans were created unequal...

Race is relevant for immigration. Population (or racial) differences, whether cultural or biological, are relevant when nations consider immigration, demographic trends or broad economic policies...

Inequality is not only compatible with a just society; it is inevitable...