Inequality and the American Economy

Economic inequality in the US and most countries has risen sharply in the last few decades. This article analyses the process that accounts for the growing concentration of capital and draws parallels with the state of affairs which resulted in the Great Depression. He identifies the liberal laissez-faire doctrine as the main factor behind the reduction in labour costs and the resulting crises of overproduction. A cyclical pendular oscillation may be discerned between liberalism and statism in modern history. The present “great recession” could be solved by a returns to a radical redistribution of wealth through taxation under state stewardship.