The Privilege Tax

What your head start really costs you

Dear Unlearners,
Most of us reading this right now are among the world's most privileged—and we might not even realize it.

If you're reading this on a smartphone while sipping coffee, you're already living a life that billions can only dream of. Let that sink in: nearly half of the world's population—3.5 billion people—live on less than $6.85 per day acording to World Bank. That's less than a grande specialty drink at Starbucks.

We often talk about privilege as if it’s only about trust funds and private jets. But true privilege? It's having clean water on tap. It's being able to see a doctor when you're sick. It's having the luxury to complain about slow WiFi while 33-37% of the world's population has never used the internet.

Think about this: if you earn $30,000 a year, you're in the top 5% globally (World Inequality Database), not necessarily the top 1%—but it still places you among the wealthiest on the planet. While you're worried about your streaming subscriptions, 80% of humanity l…