In summary, when people feel that the system is unfair and arbitrary and that hard work does not pay off, we all end up losing. This is due to several related negative consequences, including widespread cheating or stealing, mounting distrust, and a willingness to forgo joint gains for the sake of preventing those who are well-off from becoming even better off. The gross national product may nonetheless rise due to additional spending on security personnel, accountants, auditors, lawyers, screening devices, monitoring equipment, and so on, but these defensive expenditures do not improve the
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