ABSTRACT
Those who believe that social status is all about money believe that the way to eliminate status differences is give the poor more of it, while simultaneously relieving the rich of their excess wealth. It is assumed that if everyone possesses exactly the same resources, no one will be able to assert power over others. This, however, totally ignores the inborn bases of social hierarchies. It also fails to take account of the fact that were resources artificially equalized, they would soon become destabilized by individuals who immediately began seeking advantages over their neighbors. Not only former members of the elite, but the previously poor, would agitate for dominance. Unless this renewed contest for supremacy was quashed by superior force, e.g., governmental coercion, within short order some individuals would become significantly richer than others.
