Originally Posted by
Gredival
Because in an MMO, we all start from zero so a zero-sum system actually privileges the best and/or hardest working players. In real life we don't all have the same starting point.
“None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody - a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns - bent down and helped us pick up our boots.” -- Thurgood Marshall.
Some people get better starts than others because economic success is inherited, different economic classes compete for different stakes, and economic outcomes mis-value people's societal contributions.
Trump is a great example; he's only rich because he was born rich. He would not be a self-made millionaire if he was born poor or even middle class. He makes money because he has money. The same will be true of his children. Stewardship of a vast fortune takes far less work, brilliance, and ingenuity than creating a fortune. Old money vs. self-made.
You can made major mistakes as the CEO of a major company and get a severance package of several million when you get canned, but if you piss off manager Karen at the office you can get canned and have to compete with dozens of people with overpriced and oversupplied BAs for a job that only requires a degree because so many people were oversold on getting a degree.
You can have doctors who literally save dozens of lives in the ER every night make less than Pharmabro.
Basically I have no problem with elitism. I just don't think capitalism is actually elitist.