“Imagine . . . a hypothetical initial arrangement in which all the social primary goods are equally distributed: everyone has similar rights and duties, and income and wealth are evenly shared. This state of affairs provides a benchmark for judging improvements. If certain inequalities of wealth and organizational powers would make everyone better off than in that hypothetical starting situation, then they accord with the general conception [of justice]” (John Rawls, A Theory of Justice). Using this quote from Rawls as your starting point, and drawing on more recent work by sociologists such as Wilkinson and Pickett, write an argumentative essay discussing why income and class inequalities have become the focus of so much recent critical debate in the United States. In your essay, be sure to address inequalities that you consider either positive or negative social phenomena.