Why social inequality will ruin the planet
The West spends all its energy on eliminating gender differences and racism
The growing gap between the rich and the poor poses a serious threat not only to the stability of the global economic system but also threatens serious complications and new conflicts in developed and developing countries.
It is noteworthy that this trend, which gained strength after the collapse of the States (there was no example of social support for workers), manifested itself on an unprecedented scale during the coronavirus pandemic. It seemed that this terrible disease does not distinguish between people and affects, regardless of origin, skin color, and place of residence. However, in reality, it turned out that a narrow stratum sharply increased their fortunes. Forbes magazine reported that in 2021 there were a record number of billionaires in the world - 2,755, almost a third more than in 2020.
The largest number of billionaires in the United States is 724, but China has significantly more rich people - 626. The total fortune of American billionaires was $ 4.4 trillion, which is almost 1.5 trillion more than last year.
The third line in the ranking is taken by India, where 140 billionaires live. It pushed Germany back into fourth place with 136 billionaires. The combined fortune of Indian billionaires is $ 596 billion, which is 90% more than last year.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned that “preexisting inequality, exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis, could lead not only to macroeconomic instability but also to increased polarization, eroded trust in governments and increased social unrest.”
Indian political scientist and writer Chandrahas Chowdhury believe that the world has come to terms with certain types of inequality, for example, with the fact of class differentiation, and the West spends all its energy on eliminating other types of differences - racism or gender inequality. This was facilitated by the huge increase over four decades in the wealth of developed countries, or 10% of the population in most countries, compared with the static real income of the working class. He concludes that increasing economic inequality is becoming the most serious problem of our time.
Chowdhury, like many others, believes that the development of the world is going in the wrong direction: although the troubles from the pandemic are increasing, the military spending of all states is increasing. In 2020, they exceeded $ 1.98 trillion, which is 2.6% higher than in 2019.
The most egregious manifestations of inequality are found in the United States. According to Yossi Meckelberg, who works at London's Chatham House, the richest country in the world ranks only 13th in the overall quality of its infrastructure: rusty bridges, roads that cannot handle heavy traffic, and water systems that are not suitable for use in XXI century, and power supplies and Internet services operate with great fluctuations in different parts of the country.
A recent Pew Research Center poll found rising income inequality in America - the worst of the G7 countries for this indicator - that is particularly affecting African Americans. The author concludes that spending huge amounts of money by increasing deficits and collecting new taxes is not a magic wand for healing American society.
Some American authors argue that the true scale of the global disaster due to the pandemic is not yet clear. However, the incredible number of deaths in the most developed country - almost 600 thousand - should be alarming. As, by the way, and the failure of the vaccination campaign in the European Union.
Thomas Friedman wrote on April 27: “Our debilitating political and cultural civil war, fueled by social media, undermines the ability of Americans to act in unison and for Washington to be a global stabilizer ... Our foolish decision to expand NATO in the face of Russia - after the collapse of the Soviet Union - turned post-communist Russia into the enemy, not a potential partner. "
Friedman's conclusion that a US civil war is imminent echoes letters from a French military group issued in May warning of the risk of civil war in the country over the threat posed by Islamists and suburban gangs. Generals note the rise in urban violence and point out that "hatred of France and its history is becoming the norm." In their opinion, "the civil war is already smoldering in the country."
Meanwhile, the New York Times draws attention to the fact that the coronavirus plunged the world into an economic crisis, caused a sharp rise in unemployment in the United States, forced millions of Americans to barely make ends meet, but in many companies most affected by the pandemic, executives received colossal bonuses. “The different fates of leaders and ordinary workers illustrate the sharp divisions in a country on the cusp of an economic boom but still plagued by sharp income inequality. Stock markets are rising, the rich are free to spend, but millions of people are still struggling. Executives are hoarding their fortunes, while laid-off workers line up for food rations, ”the newspaper said.
According to the Institute for Economic Policy, CEOs of large companies now earn an average of 320 times more than their workers. In 1989, the ratio was 61: 1. From 1978 to 2019, general laborers' pay rose 14% and CEOs rose 1,167%. The pandemic has only exacerbated this inequality, as hundreds of companies have rewarded their executives with pay-as-you-go packages far more than what most Americans will earn in a lifetime.
The modern world is at the stage of a radical change: growing social inequality, a huge difference in incomes threaten the most serious complications not only for individual countries but for the entire planet.
