It’s not “equality”. Based on Schumpeter’s Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy Lamont makes in his article the case that capitalism rewards practical doers who create value for consumers, while undervaluing abstract verbal brilliance, breeding resentment. Socialism elevates them to central planners & directors with status & protection from markets. TLDR: Capitalism rewards those who do. Socialism elevates those who direct. Note: this view is echoed by thinkers like Nozick and Sowell. Nozick argued intellectuals (“wordsmiths”) develop entitlement in school where verbal brilliance earns top status, then resent capitalism for rewarding practical value-creation for consumers over abstract intellect. Sowell described them as “the anointed” who overestimate their knowledge for grand social engineering, blame capitalism for society’s ills while ignoring trade-offs and dispersed practical wisdom, and promote visions that elevate their role as planners and critics.