Bloomberg: The World’s Protesters Want to Soak the Rich, But That’s Not All
Sharp divisions between the rich and poor are fueling a global wave of unrest -- but that’s just one of the grievances driving people onto the streets, according to a leading scholar of economic inequality.
Latin America’s yawning wealth gap helps explain the protests that exploded in Chile last month, says Branko Milanovic, the former World Bank economist whose “elephant chart” -- named for the shape of its curve -- was celebrated for revealing the winners and losers from globalization.
But in the Middle East, the other region suffering widespread unrest and hardly any economic growth, he sees a different picture -- with anger directed at political systems that are shielding elites from any kind of change.
Protests have forced leaders in Lebanon and Algeria to resign, toppled the regime in Sudan and pushed Iraq’s government to the brink of collapse. “I don’t think we can put out a blanket story of inequality” to explain them all, says Milanovic, author most recently of “Capitalism, Alone” and a professor at the City University of New York.
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WNU Editor: I have recently gotten to know some people from Belgium. They are young, and they want to start their own company focused on search engine optimization. They are full of energy, and are happy to be in Montreal. But when I ask them how life is in Belgium, their response is truly eye-opening. They are frustrated, and feel that as entrepreneurs they are being deliberately blocked by government policies, regulations, and taxes. Add the high cost of living and the realization that buying your own home is impossible .... their anger is their. Hence that is the reason why they are here in Montreal, even though they miss their friends back home. Now that is Belgium .... a country that many see as a utopia, especially if you are from Africa or the Middle East. But that is the point. Every country is different. But there is one consistency that I have observed. Expectations among the young are sky-high in each and everyone of these countries, and governments are failing to satisfy their needs.
