Perhaps not a direct consequence of choice, though. Certainly whatever poltical and economic system we choose has implications for inequality, but it's not simply a matter of "we choose to have less inequality –> less inequality." Redistributive choices have complex interactions and results.
Right. Intuitively, it is obvious that political choices impact inequality, as does perusing world data sorted by GINI coefficient, or even just a review of the US over time.
I do find it darkly funny that so many folks seem to throw up their hands - it is obvious that inequality will always exist, so just live with however much we currently happen to have and shut up about it. (Inflation, however - we can totally micromanage that!) Humans have an innate sense of fairness that becomes offended at some point, and they start punishing even when doing so harms themselves. The peasants get restless at some point, the tumbrels come out, and there's your natural law in action.
Sure, people do that, but you're reading things into my post if you're implying that that attitude exists anywhere in it. I didn't say anything about throwing up our hands, and as far as I can tell neither does Sowell.
Some people are more influenced by fairness. Some people are more influenced by their desire to compete and win. Both are built into humans. Don't judge the whole humanity by your personal temperament.
Ironic bit of advice there, given how personal you're making things. I'm talking about behavioral phenomena that's not even specific to humans. But since we seem to be advising each other, don't personalize things so much; the world's bigger than both of us.
Choices about what profession or business to go into, whether to buy things and how much to pay for them, what goods/services to provide and how to provide them, etc.
Or choices about the socioeconomic status of your parents, or your intelligence, or the country you are born into, etc. There is nothing unjust about inequality, because in a free market universe, everything is a choice and being left holding the shorter straw is due to your choices.
Poverty is a social tragedy. Inequality is an inevitable consequence of choice.