Agency Is the New Inequality

The gap that matters isn't just wealth anymore—it's the ability to shape your own circumstances.

Traditional inequality metrics miss something crucial: two people with identical incomes can have vastly different levels of control over their lives. One works a job with predictable hours and clear boundaries. The other is on-call 24/7, subject to algorithmic management, one bad review away from deactivation.

Technology amplifies this divide. Those with resources can automate, delegate, and optimize. Those without become inputs to someone else's optimization. The gig economy doesn't just create income inequality—it creates agency inequality, concentrating decision-making power while distributing risk.

Crypto's promise was partially about agency: self-custody, permissionless access, censorship resistance. But access to these tools requires knowledge, attention, and risk tolerance that aren't evenly distributed.

The question for builders isn't just "does this create value?" but "for whom does this create agency?" Systems that concentrate agency while distributing tokens haven't solved inequality—they've just obscured it.