Maxim
Advantage tends to compound: those who have, get more.
“It is the Way of Heaven to diminish superabundance, and to supplement deficiency. It is not so with the way of man. He takes away from those who have not enough to add to his own superabundance.”
Taoism · Ancient (before 200 BCE)
Translation: public-domain translation (Legge)
Early advantages (a head start, a good name, a little capital) tend to attract more of the same, while those with little often find even that slipping away. The Gospel of Matthew states the pattern twice, and in 1968 the sociologists Robert K. Merton and Harriet Zuckerman named it the Matthew effect. Seeing it clearly invites us to share a head start generously and to lift up those who begin behind.
Related expressions
“For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”
Watch on YouTube: Bishop Barron: The Parable of the Talents ↗Bishop Barron on the Parable of the TalentsWatch on YouTube: Malcolm Gladwell: Outliers (Microsoft Research) ↗Malcolm Gladwell discusses his book Outliers“For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”
Watch on YouTube: BibleProject: Why Jesus Told Parables ↗BibleProject on why Jesus taught in parables
Score
Moral Rank 31.0 · Evidence E = 6.95
E = ln(1+2.00) + √1.10 + 3·1.10 + 1.5·1 = 6.95