Michael Medved: Wealth Poverty

Posted by admin on Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Michael Medved Money Quote saying the idea that poverty must increase as wealth increases is a fallacy that hurts the image of believers. Michael Medved said:
 

 

“If you believe that when the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, then you believe that creating wealth causes poverty, and you’re an idiot” — Michael Medved

 

 

In this quote, Michael Medved seems to be criticizing the perspective that growing wealth inequality necessarily means the poor are becoming worse off. Specifically:

• Medved argues that believing greater riches for some automatically equates to more poverty for others implies a view that “creating wealth causes poverty.”
• He appears to believe this is a flawed and illogical position, suggesting it only makes sense if one believes wealth is a fixed quantity rather than something that can continually be generated through economic activity and trade.
• Medved states outright that subscribing to such a zero-sum view of wealth makes “you an idiot,” implying the person lacks a nuanced understanding of economics.

The best interpretation is that Medved is challenging the simplistic notion that any enrichment of the wealthy inevitably comes at the direct expense of the poor. From his perspective, the expansion of total wealth in an economy does not necessarily correlate with rising deprivation if that increased prosperity is broadly shared. However, his comment is also needlessly antagonistic in its delivery.