LEON LOUW: Why intellectuals fall for extreme estimate of global inequality

What is it with Leon Louw and his columns trashing estimates of global inequality," asks Roger Southall (Oxfam rant a Louw point, May 3). Having opened thus, Southall forgets his question in a tirade that insults Business Day, its readers and me. The answer lurks beneath his uncritical endorsement and my critical rejection of inequality propaganda. It explains his ideological immunity. If all you know about an intellectual is that they believe extreme "estimates of global inequality" then you know a great deal about their probable position on many seemingly unrelated issues: gun control, gay rights, welfare, regulation, nuclear, global warming, abortion, death penalty, racism, sexism, hate speech, property rights, smoking and much more. That single fact usually reveals a "left-wing" paradigm. Conversely, you know nearly nothing about inequality propaganda sceptics because there is no corresponding "right-wing" paradigm. You know only that they are probably pro-market or statistician...