“We have to accept that inequality is a way of achieving greater opportunity and prosperity for all.”

It was probably not the most sensitive of things for a Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs to say in defence of bonus payments to bank staff at the moment.

However, if you are able to consider the matter objectively, Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach is quite right.

We all become entrepreneurs on the understanding that those who make extraordinary effort are entitled to extraordinary reward.

It is right that those who choose to work should have more than those who choose to rest and play.

It is right that those who choose to invest wisely should have more than those who choose to spend.

It is right that those who take calculated risks should have more if those risks pay off than those who play safe.

It is right that those who think of useful new ideas should have more than those stuck in the old ways.

It is right that those who develop initiative and innovation should have more than those who drift.

It is right that those who provide things for which other people are prepared to pay should have more than those who offer nothing that others want or need.

The extent to which these principles apply to bankers is another question, but the principles themselves are right.

A strong economy depends on rewarding those who contribute most to it. Inequality of contribution means inequality of reward. If we do not contribute what others want, we have no one but ourselves to blame if we are not rewarded.

This is a harsh morality – but an honest one.