Inequality and the 1% Chapters 1 and 4

Inequality and the 1% by Danny Dorling

1.Can we afford the Superrich?

"The greatest problem that we are facing mow, today ... is rising inequality"

                                                                Robert Shiller, recipient of the 2013                                                                                       Nobel Prize in Economics

      Robert Shiller is suggesting that the rise in inequality is having worse effects upon society than even the financial crisis of 2008. This is quite understandable as, although the 2008 crash destabilized the world economy, the 1%, after a brief loss of wealth, have force the rest of society to pay for the crisis and ensured that they came out of the crisis richer than ever. This purposeful generation of inequality by super rich has and will continue to prove much more dangerous to society as has caused the growth of a consciousness among the 99% of this inequality which is demonstrated by the fact that "in 2010 75% of people who responded to the annual British Social Attitudes Survey said they believed the income gap was too large. By 2012 this had risen to 82%." This fracturing of society can also be seen in the fact that in 2006 there were 59 large protests recorded around the world while in the first 6 months of 2013 there were 112 protests of similar size recorded. Another facet of this growing inequality is that it exists only between the 1% and the 99% while inequality within the 99% has decreased according to research conducted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The 1% also spend a great deal of their resources promoting the notion that they deserve their enormous wealth as a reward for their innovative and competent leadership which in the words of Danny Dorling are "corroding the fabric of society". This idea causes great tension between the mass of people who's standard of living has largely either stagnated or fallen, between 2007 and 2012 the average real disposable income fell by £1,200, which is one of the fundamental causes of the disillusionment with establishment politics and the rise of populism. This increase in inequality has also served to leave the economic and social interests of the disparate groups that comprise the 99% more closely aligned. This is particularly damaging to the 1% as the 99% includes the upper middle class who's potential loss of support in essence removes the life support system that allow the elite 1% to rule.

4. Wealth

      Dorling argues that it is worth noting that there is also vast inequality among the tiny group that is the super rich. This group refers to themselves as - HNWI - high net worth individuals, people who have a spare million dollars' worth of wealth excluding their pensions and primary residence, of whom there were an estimated 12 million worldwide in 2012. This group collectively has a mean investable wealth of $3.85 million. However this figure pales in comparison to the $150 million mean wealth of the "Ultras", some 110,000 of the 12 million HNWI, which is itself dwarfed by the mean $12 billion of the richest 300 people in the world. This is both the result and cause of a lack of trust and organisation among the 1%, one can not realistically hope to squire or maintain such wealth without being dominated by self-interest. Dorling points out how these attitudes contribute to the continuing growth in inequality between the 1% and the rest of society is breeds mistrust between the super rich and everyone else. This mistrust is due primarily to a lack of contact between the different groups and by a lack of empathy on the part of the 1%. This seriously undermines social cohesion as the mass of people lose faith in their leaders, most clearly evidenced by the widespread existence of conspiracy theories with 12 million people in the US telling public pollsters that they "believe that shape-shifting reptilian people control our world by taking on human form and gaining political power to manipulate our societies". Similarly extreme views are held by the 1% with Dorling giving a particularly chilling example of a 2011 Etonian exam question that asked pupils to imagine a scenario in which Britain has run out of petrol and their are riots for which the army was called in to quell, killing 25 people in the process, and they were the Prime Minister writing a speech to justify this policy, which one commentator pointed out is a blatantly authoritarian act. Dorling notes how "inequality both creates and magnifies ignorance" which in turn greatly undermines the fabric of society.