gimpyThewonder wrote:no need to get insulting, jeesh.
Well, to be honest, it was lunch-time at a hard day at work, but, still, let's have a look at what prompted my comments:
gimpyThewonder wrote:ever hear of the Feudal System? read your history, its always been that way
I don't know about you, but I'd call that insulting, and pretty undetailed, and unqualified. Apart from asking whether I've ever heard of the feudal system, you basically seemed to be saying that things haven't changed much since feudal times. (Your very next post seemed to give the impression that you do in fact realise that this isn't the case.) So how do you think I'm going to react?!
And after re-reading your post my comment stands. the cosolidation or distribution of wealth ebbs and flows throughout history. For many centuries the wealth was in the hands of the few, nobility, clergy and later the merchant class. As the merchant class became more entrenched we see the evolution of the middle class. wealth is now being more evenly distributed amongst the populace. Engel and Marx start writing/publishing and the basic tennants of communism/socialism are formed. we see a growing distribution of wealth into the 1950's-60's during the post-wwII economic boom in the US. That was the peak for distributed wealth, now thanks to factors such as globalization the person at the top of the pyramid gets the biggest check. I'm not saying its right, honestly i've been a cubicle slave so i know it sucks balls, but to assert that its a "relatively new phenomena", is just incorrect. it would be more true to claim the opposite, the idea of distrubuted wealth is far newer
You're right, the levels of income inequality in Britain and America as they stand today is not a "relatively new phenomenon". I'm well aware they have been far greater in the past - maybe I should have made clearer that I was referring to the particular phenomenon of the last 30 (or thereabouts) years of increasing inequality in both countries, being new.
But the main point I was making is that this is not inevitable, at least not to the extent that it has happened, however much our political leaders may say it is (and in fact, I don't think any mention of it is ever made in America, but I'll happily be corrected on that), and I like to point it out when people talk as if these things are.