Michelle. This entire essay is brilliant. Thank you. We need to continue to explore this topic as often as we can.
Your point above about tweaking the system so more individuals benefit while still allowing for big wins and attainable degrees of mega-net worth is doable. Like you say: it does not have to be one or the other like it is now.

I must say I love (sarcasm here) the collective gaslighting that makes huge numbers of the population say, Oh no. We cannot do that because that is communism or socialism. It absolutely is not but what a job has been done selling that view, huh.

Or the person struggling to feed her/his/their family but still saying, don’t tax me ( or anyone) in order to give me (for example) health care or social security. When I build my own company like Amazon, I will be able to afford anything.
Ugh. And I am not knocking ambition, go for it, of course. It’s just not realistic to expect 50% of the population will have Bezos’ current net worth.

One of my favorite responses to this dilemma (mess) surrounding us is: “Let’s say an individual like Bezos ( or anyone in the 1%) owns 65 personal-use houses around the world. “( of course I just using any number to prove a point) “ Couldn’t he/she/they be happy with 45 of those houses?”

Then the reality is this privileged crowd just want to grow the 65 number(or what ever) to higher and higher numbers. No end in sight. Why? Because she/he/they with the biggest number at death wins.
Just look at the damage that thinking does…

Whoops a bit of a rant in this comment. Well, it is a topic dear and dear to my heart.

On another note did you watch Don’t Look Up on Netflix?