Despite the fact that, since September 11, there has been tremendous conflict among ethnic and religious groups (i.e., the United States versus Islamic terrorists) the fundamental theory of Marx still is valid: the gulf between the rich and the poor is not only widening, it is being flaunted in many areas. Money and wealth still equal power, whether in the United States Congress, in German industries, or British foreign policy.
We may be able to understand ethnic conflicts in Bosnia and Chechnya, in Kurdistan and Palestine/Israel. What is difficult for us (speaking of the coming generation here) is the wealth and power still amassed even by those business leaders who have spearheaded their companies into fiscal doom, or fraudulent bankruptcies. Even with a reasonable (though slowing) economy in the United States, Robert J. Barrow (1999) points out that countries with Anglo-Saxon origin- Britain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, are seeing the income gap widening. While some Wall Street Journal reports (2001) show that top management's salary increases are slowing, they nevertheless outpaced the rise of wages for average workers nearly three to one. This widening gulf eliminates the thought of fair pay for successful leadership or achievement, and is often based on the company's determination to hold on to the executives no matter what it costs.
Income inequality comes from more than salaries. Stock ownership and stock options are often the reason why the rich get richer and the poor do not. Substantial stock holdings are the purview of the rich and this stock wealth has not penetrated much beyond the rich and upper middle class. Downsizing does not fairly offer stock as a parting perk. As the economy slows, even pension plans are now losing money. But, those top executives with stock options and bonuses continue to thrive. American Airlines, barely avoiding bankruptcy and asking its employees to take ...