The cure for the sin is repentance, and the evidence of repentance is to put society back together again. Those who are dividing society because the esteem themselves to be better must repent and "think of your brethren like unto yourselves."
Social: We need to delve deeper into the economic workings of villages to understand how Jacob sees his solution as being effective. Jacob is suggesting that those who are wealthy distribute their wealth - and then he suggests that all will "be rich like unto you." How is it that the dilution of wealth in the hands of a few will lead to a generally more wealthy population?
A story is told about Andrew Carnegie, whether true or not. As a wealthy man he was frequently beset by those who wanted to share his wealth. As the story is told, a man approached him and noted that Mr. Carnegie was vastly wealthy, and that Mr. Carnegie's money should be redistributed. Mr. Carnegie is said to have turned to an associate and said: "give the man a dollar, that's his share."
The point is that a distribution over a larger population decreases wealth. The very wide distribution levels the inequities, and while there is not as great an accumulation, more importantly, there is no differentiation in accumulation. So once again, Jacob's words seem somewhat unusual.
What is different in the village economy is the distance a person is from the necessity of food production. If all must equally work at providing sufficient food, then all are reasonably equal, for there is no time to engage in other activities. Nephite society had clearly progressed to a point where there were some who could be distanced at least somewhat from food production. Nephi and Jacob were probably involved in production, but also probably not to the same extent as others. The building project of the temple indicates sufficient surplus of food that a labor force might be assembled and work through some period of time.
The presence of trade also indicates that there are some who are able to be distanced from food production. The time it takes to create the trade goods, as well as the time required to take the trips to negotiate trade all presume a surplus of food such that there is time for these activities. Thus there must be in Nephite society those who are somewhat distanced from food production, but there are also very clearly a very large number who are still engaged completely in the task of food production.
Jacob's hints are that this emerging merchant class valued their trade goods higher than the foodstuffs, even though they would be unable to operate without sufficient surplus food from their brethren. In the distribution of trade goods, Jacob is suggesting that there is value in the work of one's hands, both for food and trade items, and that by deeming fellows as themselves, these nouveau merchants would understand that they also have an obligation to trade for their food. Thus the goods are distributed, and all become wealthy not as opposed to each other, but as contrasted to other villages not having the clear benefits that the Nephites appear to have had.
Paul Radin summarizes some of the reasons that food and manufactured goods might be seen in very different circumstances:
" …the important fact to remember is that the idea of withholding food from anyone for any reason whatsoever, no matter what the status of the individual, what crime against the community he may have committed or how unwilling to work he may be, is, in a primitive community, simply unthinkable. It would be tantamount to denying his existence." (Radin, 1953, p. 113).
Jacob's village was not that long removed from the egalitarian necessities of simple survival, and doubtless had incorporated a communal understanding about food such as Radin describes. With the introduction of trade goods, those who received them could easily presume that their scarcity held greater value than food, since food was not an item that would reasonably be withheld.