Work

Why Economic Inequality Should be Central to Strategies for the Future

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In this article, I develop and defend the claim that we, humanity, will not be able to get significantly closer to a world in which there is ecologically sustainable human development if we do not tackle economic inequalities head-on. This implies that we should focus not only on poverty but also on the entire distribution of income and wealth, including extreme wealth concentration. For national and international policymaking, this means that reducing economic inequality must be one of the central priorities rather than assuming that it is indirectly covered by other social goals such as poverty reduction or formal equality of opportunities, or assuming that it is a problem that will solve itself over time under globalised neoliberal capitalism.

Source: Journal of Human Development and Capabilities

DOI: 10.1080/19452829.2025.2479028

Author: Ingrid Robeyns

Institution: Utrecht University

Language: English

Topic: Income, Poverty, and Inequality

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, No poverty

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek