The Gap between Rich and Poor

Left leaning condemnations of the gap between rich and poor are not really about the gap itself but rather about the pernicious existence of the rich. If it were the gap that really mattered, the Left would be interested in measures that would narrow the gap by making the poor richer, but invariably their methods of reducing the gap always entail making the rich poorer. Not that elitism bothers the Left. In fact, elitism is an essential component of progressive philosophy. The problem with the rich from the progressive point of view is that they have acquired power and elite status simply by making or accumulating or inheriting money, whereas, in the ideal world of the Left, power is restricted only to those who have proven themselves ideologically correct. Ideological purity must be the measure of achievement for the Left, not business acumen. Thus it is a question of control. Anything else is a threat.