I think redistributing research positions on considerations others than "best person for the job gets it" will clearly set us back on getting that!
Do you think that redistributing the non-natural and non-cultural stuff won't set us back (or, rather, slow us down)?
Or are you willing to tolerate the slowdown in one case but not the other?
Or... ?
Wealth redistribution in order to help those who are unfortunate enough to have lost their bet [referring to ArisKatsaris's example of identical people betting and losing and then being in a unequal position to bet again] get another chance at betting or the below average to get intelligence enhancements/training/treatment/whatever will improve their performance is something I would firmly support however I think job distribution is a very poor way of doing this, it seems intuitively obvious that it reduces the overall amount of wealth a society has.
If ...
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/24/should-employers-be.html