as @sjwrenlewis concludes:
'To a considerable extent levels of inequality & poverty are what societies choose them to be. But in democracies inequality & poverty are rarely major election issues, so perhaps it is more accurate to say that levels of poverty and inequality are what political elites and their influencers want them to be'!
Our political class have chosen this level of inequality - it is *no* accident!
The neutering of trade unions and the Labour Party in the 80s and 90s was essential for this level of wealth inequality.
If the UK and other countries had had an economically left-wing political option to vote for then the current wealth and income inequalities would never have reached these levels.
Yes there is a pretty clear correlation between the decline of union membership & the proportion of economic surplus allocated to profit as opposed to wages... many would argue for causation!
Indeed. A cynic might suggest that the unions and the Labour Party were deliberately corrupted to prevent any industrial or political opposition to TINA.
That would certainly accord with some of the known facts....
Emeritus Prof. Christopher May
Reg