This topic is explored in Michael Sandel&#x27;s book Justice[1].   IIRC his conclusion is that we are products of our environment and as such we owe a debt to the environment that helped create us: university, school, parents and not least of all the society that helped to build everything that came before us.<p>So the question should not be how do you justify earning it but just how much can you justify keeping it?<p>Kind of lefty, I know, but it&#x27;s Friday :)<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.co.uk&#x2F;Justice-Whats-Right-Thing-Do-ebook&#x2F;dp&#x2F;B002RUA4XE?ie=UTF8&amp;ref_=dp_kinw_strp_1" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.co.uk&#x2F;Justice-Whats-Right-Thing-Do-ebook&#x2F;d...</a>