Very few thinkers have made the case for a society in which everybody receives the same level of income or wealth, regardless of their talent or hard work. Even Karl Marx, who popularised the phrase “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs", wasn’t talking about equal outcomes; he meant that people required "different things in different proportions in order to flourish". However, inequality has reached such a high level in many countries, including the UK, that a range of arguments are made for reducing (if not completely eliminating) it. For example, The Spirit Level argues that reducing inequality benefits everyone in society by tackling a range of social issues such as physical and mental health, crime, trust and social mobility.
