A return thank you to Joseph Jaworski for his Oct. 4 letter, "Laws of economics and physics" (which was a response to my Sept. 27 letter, "Why do producers finish last?"). I am a little baffled, though, as to why most of the response was an effort to argue semantics. I don't think most readers of The Japan Times have a problem understanding what "good will" or "a few" or "all" means.
Contrary to his claim, I did not confuse income and wealth. If wealth is evenly distributed across a populace to begin with — that is, not hoarded by a disproportionately small percentage of the populace — you won't have to bother with redistribution at all.
Jaworski asserts that the laws of economics are as immutable and unchangeable as the laws of physics. If that's true, why are there so many different economic systems throughout the world and throughout history? If the laws of economics were truly universal, why does the United States have much more economic inequality than other OECD nations, including Japan?
Economics is not out of our hands, any more than our governments are. I think claiming that economics is like physics is a copout on society, and a way to avoid taking responsibility for society's shortcomings.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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