Many people know that economic inequality has grown significantly over the past few decades. But it may shock you just how much global wealth is controlled by a tiny capitalist class — and how much power that gives them.
Thanks in part to movements like Occupy and Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaigns, it’s no secret that the United States, and the world, are grossly unequal in wealth and income. But many people may be unaware of just how bad inequality has gotten, both in the United States and globally, or what it might mean for humanity’s future.
In his new book, Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do with Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More, economist and Jacobin contributor Rob Larson provides an up-to-date primer on the scope and scale of the widening gap between the very rich and everyone else. Jacobin’s Sara Wexler recently caught up with Larson to discuss the uberrich, their grotesquely lavish lifestyles, and the pernicious threats extreme inequality poses to human freedom, a livable planet, and more.
Sara Wexler
Many people who see economic inequality as a problem may still not grasp the extreme magnitude of the disparities you discuss in Mastering the Universe. Could you share some of the statistics on wealth and income inequality that you think people might find especially shocking or surprising?
Rob Larson
Many people are vaguely aware that the rich have too much money, but they may not realize the tremendous scale of the issue. The World Inequality Database (WID), a consortium of economists whose work I rely on in the book, have current estimates of…
Auteur: Rob Larson
