Existing policies to achieve social cohesion are based on the belief that, if uncorrected, the free play of market forces will lead to wide disparities in income and thus intensify social conflict. But studies tend to show that the majority of income transfers by government occur within the middle class, while only a relatively small proportion are from rich to poor.
现有实现社会凝聚的政策建立在这一信念基础之上，那就是，市场力量如果不加以调节就会导致巨大的收入差距，从而激化社会冲突。但是研究结果往往表明，政府收入转移的大部分都在中产阶级中进行，而只有一小部分是从富人流向穷人。实际上，某些转移的方向正好相反。例如，仅仅是由于较为富有的人一般寿命较长，因此，许多养老金体系将金钱从穷人转移到中产阶级。