Income and wealth inequality has risen in many countries in recent decades. Rising inequality and related disparities and anxieties have been stoking social discontent and are a major driver of the increased political polarisation and populist nationalism that are so evident today. An increasingly unequal society can weaken trust in public institutions and undermine democratic Read more
Americans must move past the health-wealth dichotomy that dominates public debate about how to manage the current pandemic to find a way forward, said a panel of Catholic scholars during a webinar June 2. “Either you want to kill Grandma or you want to destroy the economy and leave millions of people unemployed, and people Read more
While wages stagnate, stock prices rise and the rich get richer. If you’re lucky enough to be a member of the global 1%, last year was another good year to be alive (every year is pretty great, though). Your wealth bracket increased its share of global riches so that it holds just over half of Read more
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private global development organisation in the world. In a SPIEGEL interview, Melinda Gates explains the couple’s start in philanthropy, the challenges of combatting disease in conflict zones and the unique responsibility of the wealthy. SPIEGEL: Mrs. Gates, how does it feel to be so rich that Read more
At its simplest, the groundbreaking work by French economist Thomas Piketty proves no more than what we thought we already knew: the rich get richer. Whether the poor also get poorer is another matter. What would the taxi driver who took me across Beijing last year in a Toyota tricked out with three smartphones have Read more
The high-spending behaviour of the Bishop of Limburg has promoted other German bishops to reveal the value of their private endowments — and encouraged a growing number of Catholics to leave the Church. After being accused of lavish spending, Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg has travelled to Rome to meet officials at the Vatican, Read more
Catholics are more likely to support government intervention in the economy than Protestants and also have a stronger preference for sharing wealth equally, a European Central Bank study said.
The research paper also said Max Weber’s theories about the Protestant work ethic were supported by the results of the study and that they apply more widely than thought, including in the choice of political institutions and in explaining income inequality.
Read the article...The Pope has blamed the recent riots on the erosion of moral values in Britain and warned the Coalition that more trouble was likely if it did not bring down unemployment and spread wealth more fairly.
The pope spoke out as he welcomed Britain’s new ambassador to the Vatican, Nigel Baker, on what was his 43rd birthday.
Mr Baker presented his letters of credential to the Pontiff in a colourful ceremony at his summer lakeside residence.
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