Development and equality : partners or rivals

This does not argue against redistribution of income-generating oppor- tunities (like wealth through a land reform or establishment of a stiff inheritance tax) very early in the process of in- dustrialization, but it does not mean that reforms must be accom- panied by measures that would raise production. In some countries it is conceivable that more growth without more equali- ty is impossible. And if several different paths lead to the same rate of growth, ceteris paribus the more egalitarian one would be preferred. Once cannot speak dispassionately of income distribution - what the relative shares are, what implications for development might be, and what researchable topics remain for the social scientist - without remembering that size distribution of income depends on economic power and any redistribution of wealth implies redistribution of power. This redistribution can come through socialism, some types of mixed economics, etc.. But without dramatic changes in the structure of power, chances for a change in the size in the size of distribution of income are dim indeed.