The Wealth of the Merchant

French intellectual Bertrand de Jouvenel made the following observation in his book, The Ethics of Redistribution, published in 1951:

"...during the whole range of life of commercial society, from the end of the Middle Ages to our day, the wealth of the rich merchant has been resented far more than the pomp of rulers."

How troubling, that people resent earned wealth more than fortunes built on taxes and social privilege.