the killing fields of inequality

«OK, inequality is a fact, and increasing, so what? Does it matter if David Beckham earns much more than you do? (Tony Blair on one occasion appeared to offer this question as a cover for leaving income inequality untouched.)

My answer is that it does matter, because inequality is a violation of human rights; the invocation of celebrity pay is simply a smoke-screen.

(...)

The stretching social distance between the poorest and the richest diminishes social cohesion, which in turn means more collective problems – such as crime and violence – and fewer resources for solving all our other collective problems, from national identity to climate change.»

excerto de The Killing Fields of Inequality, de Göran Therborn
in Soundings nº42, Verão 2009, via eurozine


The Killing Fields of Inequality (pdf)