Chapter 13 - The Rich Continue to Get Richer
from Part III
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 July 2026
Summary
I present the first of three possibilities for the future of economic development and inequality. In this scenario, the rich continue to get richer, leaving the rest of us behind. I describe four implications of this continued concentration of wealth. First, the super-rich will continue to disproportionately influence politics, furthering fragmentation and polarization in society and deepening civic discontent. Second, economic inequality will amplify ill-health. Third, poverty will persist despite increased aggregate prosperity. Fourth, the climate will continue to deteriorate to our collective detriment. This dystopian possibility underscores the urgency of imagining and pursuing alternative futures.
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- InequalityThe View from Manywheres, pp. 174 - 188Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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