Debating Kindness, Deserving Success, and Income Redistribution

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In a thoughtful and reflective discussion, the speaker acknowledges that while the world has made progress in certain areas, it is still a complicated picture. They question their own success and whether they deserve it, realizing that external factors like genes and upbringing have played a significant role. Despite acknowledging their privilege, they still do not support income redistribution by the government because they believe it may lead to unintended consequences. The speaker concludes by highlighting the importance of incentive and differential salaries, not solely based on deservingness.

Your mother's socio-economic status at the time of your birth. Whether your ancestors raised crops or led camels through the desert. The smell of the room you're in when you're making a decision--all of these things, says neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, combine to affect your behavior, as well as everything in between. And if you're wondering where free will fits in, Sapolsky says, it doesn't: If we're all the sum of our biology and environments over which we had no control, it makes no sense to hold us accountable for anything that we do. In a conversation that's equal parts fascinating and frightening, Sapolsky and EconTalk's Russ Roberts discuss the science and philosophy behind determinism. They explore what this argument, taken to its logical conclusion, means for our social and legal systems, and the challenge of how to live if free will is an illusion.