[Nateman]

I blame altruism. By subscribing to the philosophy that sacrifice is the good, anything that causes sacrifice is automatically the good no matter how horrible the outcome.

[ek_hornbeck]

I blame altruism. By subscribing to the philosophy that sacrifice is the good,

It's not even altruism per se, it's the absurd belief that equality (or the new buzzword, "equity") should be the ultimate goal of society. The goal isn't usually achieved by altruism, but simply by creating a social and economic system which disincentivizes achievement.