Does innovation tend to reduce social inequality or deepen it? Provide examples
The only thing that’s certain is that innovation leads directly to new technologies that change the way everyone lives their lives. Some of these technologies are affordable to everyone and some may only be available to the ultra-rich. I believe Tesla is a perfect example of the former. As most people know Tesla produces the best luxury electric vehicles the world has ever seen. Their closest competitors are still light years behind as far as their price and performance. Typically when a single company dominates the market, their prices are greatly inflated because there’s no one else. Tesla is not like that though. The Tesla Model 3 starts its pricing in the mid thirty thousands and the higher performance models are not far behind. Their pricing fits right in with other internal combustion engine vehicles which is mind boggling quite frankly. Cars with similar performance specs to the Model 3 typically start above $60,000. This is the perfect example of innovation closing the social gap. Almost anyone can drive a Tesla these days. Conversely, when Tesla first started, they were priced a good bit higher and the best of them are still more costly than the average person can afford. Most times, when new technologies are unveiled, they become available to the rich faster than everyone else due to pricing or simply availability options. This is the case the majority of the time unless it is a new technology with a low price point aimed at the general population. I don’t believe that innovation deepens social inequality overall but I do think that technological advances benefit the rich faster than the poor. I believe it is a constant flow of innovation that gives the appearance of the deepening inequality rather than actually deepening it.
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