If everybody&#x27;s metric of success is national maximized social&#x2F;economic utility, your point would be fine. But that isn&#x27;t the case. Many people prefer a positional metric, where they&#x27;d rather be poor as long as other people are poorer. See, e.g.:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sciencedirect.com&#x2F;science&#x2F;article&#x2F;pii&#x2F;S0167268198000894" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.sciencedirect.com&#x2F;science&#x2F;article&#x2F;pii&#x2F;S0167268198...</a><p>If the point is money, then yes, you&#x27;d be right. But for a lot of people the point is status, not money.  Taking a vulnerable or visibly different group of people and forcing them into a subordinate state is going to feel like success to a lot of people.