>The article mentions globalization but doesn't view inequality through a global lens. If you look only within rich nations, yes inequality has increased, because the poor and blue collar middle class have lost a lot of jobs to poorer countries. But that phenomenon is actually reducing inequality as measured from a global view.
Actually inequality (of percentage of the world's resources amassed) between poor and rich countries has increased as well. The get richer compared to their own past, but less than the world is getting richer overall.
But that's a red-herring. Even if inequality among countries was lessening, that could just be part of poor countries getting richer, building infrastructure and so on.
That wouldn't mean the richer countries having rising inequality and poverty is is not a problem, nor we should view it like "inequality in the west is being balanced as less inequality in other countries".
> But that's a red-herring. Even if inequality among countries was lessening, that could just be part of poor countries getting richer, building infrastructure and so on.
Simpson Paradox. Inequality inside of countries can increase while the average inequality across all countries goes down.
Also: The change in world inequality is all about China.
> Actually inequality (of percentage of the world's resources amassed) between poor and rich countries has increased as well. The get richer compared to their own past, but less than the world is getting richer overall.
That's an interesting claim to make. China, India, Eastern europe... Africa is having a boom too. Ask any westerner who used to go on dirt cheap super long vacations. The today's gap is miniscule compared to the glorious days.
It seems to be comparing personal incomes rather than country-to-country difference. Isn't it? And it goes up to 1990 only. China and India boomed after that. Eastern europe was in the process of shrugging off their chains. Africa boom started more than a decade later.
I'm talking about GDP PPP grouped by country. Coming from eastern european perspective, the difference is much smaller than it was in 90s or 70s. Both in how close we're to western europe and us and how China or India or Africa got closer to us.
Actually inequality (of percentage of the world's resources amassed) between poor and rich countries has increased as well. The get richer compared to their own past, but less than the world is getting richer overall.
But that's a red-herring. Even if inequality among countries was lessening, that could just be part of poor countries getting richer, building infrastructure and so on.
That wouldn't mean the richer countries having rising inequality and poverty is is not a problem, nor we should view it like "inequality in the west is being balanced as less inequality in other countries".