For most of human history, one’s life trajectory was determined right at birth. If you were born in a royal family, you led an opulent life. If you were born in a serf’s family, you led a life of misery. The industrial revolution and the spread of democracy helped create a more dynamic world. In the modern era, a cab driver’s daughter can dream about becoming a billionaire. A billionaire’s son can have nightmares about going bankrupt one day.

Yet, even in the modern world, the distribution of wealth and power is far more unequal than the distribution of talent. A 2018 research paper by the Italian physicists A Pluchino and A Rapisarda and the economist AE Biondo shows how randomness (or luck) could help explain this puzzle. Using a simple simulation, the trio show how mediocre-but-lucky individuals are likely to reach much greater heights of success than their more talented peers. Several studies on stock market investors reach a similar verdict: luck plays a big role in generating outsized stock market fortunes for a few. The rest have to be content with average or below-average returns.

In socially stratified countries such as India, it is not just randomness that generates unequal opportunities or outcomes. The place of your birth, the language(s) you speak, your parents’ level of........

© hindustantimes