You can't escape 3+ billion years of evolution through natural selection.
The group that maximizes their long-term reproduction is the one that inherits the earth.
> The group that maximizes their long-term reproduction is the one that inherits the earth.
Yes, that's an interesting paradox in a world where the poorer tend to have more (surviving) children that the richer. But it emerged only very recently on evolutionary scales.
This is why in a village where everyone knows each other people help each other but in a holiday resort locals screw tourists.
Yes, everyone looks after their own interests, but some more than others, like in this example the students above: > implement substantially more unequal earnings distributions than the average American
I.e., unequal earnings distribution looks better and better as you climb the social ladder because you benefit more and more. On the other hand, if you are at the bottom you may strongly support more equal distibution because that can only benefit you.
Same reasoning as to why workers unions emerged from the bottom, not the top.