This basically nails the distinction I was reaching for but stated it cleaner, the entry point is the real variable, not the skill gap itself.
The "process as punishment" framing is the part I hadn't put words to. Most inequality in courts today isn't even about who wins disputes, it's about who never files one because the cost of trying exceeds what's at stake. If a random validator set replaces "whoever you can afford," the population that gets heard at all expands even before you ask whether outcomes are fair, and that's arguably the bigger shift.
Agree the skill wall doesn't disappear, but I think it's a better kind of wall, knowledge is copyable and teachable in a way legal fees never were. Someone can post "here's how to frame a dispute for GenLayer" and that knowledge spreads for free, a $500/hr lawyer doesn't.
August 29, 2026
