📈 Inequality — The space between numbers
The gap does the talking.
🧠 UX Interpretation: Distance as experience
Inequality is rarely about absolute poverty alone. It is about comparison. Two people may both survive (although “survive” might just mean you are not quite dead), yet the distance between them shapes behaviour, aspiration, and resentment.
Money measures vertically. The higher it stacks, the more visible the gradient becomes. The discomfort does not come from existence. It comes from proximity. When wealth and precarity occupy the same skyline, the contrast becomes part of daily life.
🎯 Theme: Relative fairness
Economic systems tolerate inequality up to the point where it feels earned. When accumulation appears detached from contribution, trust erodes. The interface no longer looks meritocratic. It looks tilted.
Inequality alters perception. The same tax rate feels punitive to some and negligible to others. The same rent feels manageable in one postcode and impossible in another. The gap reshapes reality.
💡 UX Takeaways
- People respond to distance more than totals.
- Perceived unfairness destabilises systems faster than scarcity.
- Proximity amplifies resentment.
- Merit narratives collapse when gaps widen visibly.
- Stability depends on credible floors and believable ceilings.
📎 Footnote
Societies rarely fracture from poverty alone. They fracture when inequality feels structural rather than accidental. When the gradient looks designed, the system itself becomes suspect.