Having a small gap between rich and poor puts our lives into the same spaces, makes us rub up against each other. We work and shop in the same places, our children go to the same schools. Democracy requires that we share in a common life, that we encounter one another. This teaches us to abide our differences and care for the common good. There's a moral and civic good that the market cannot honor. http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_sandel_why_we_shouldn_t_trust_markets_with_our_civic_life.html
My desk drawer, a bit messy, a catchall.