As far back as I can remember I have tested in the upper 1% to 5% of the population in "intelligence." School was easy, learning languages was easy, work is easy (I write computer books for engineers). Why should I be rewarded for something that has really nothing to do with me and everything to do with genetics? Why should my genetic inheritance be translated into a moral category? Why is one hour of my life worth more or less than an hour of anyone else's life?
If people are slackers, there's usually a reason for it. Maybe the work isn't worth doing! Maybe the point of life is to live, not work--inasmuch as not working is compatible with life. And, as for providing incentives for "undesirable" work, if work is necessary, people will do it--provided that work is equally shared and there is no stigma attached to doing it.
Why am I supposed to get het up about the fact that my office mate makes a few dollars more or less than me, when my CEO makes five hundred times more than I do? Is there anyone on this email list that thinks he is five hundred times more productive?
Joanna