RICH AND POOR IN THE FUTURE

It is not new that humanity has a gap between rich and poor and that economic growth may benefit both rich and poor but does not narrow the gap between rich and poor. Also not new is that since Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Antonio Gramsci, many authors have exposed economic inequality and called for protest. Notably after the Second World War a long train of other critical writers stood up: Mao Zedong, André Gunder Frank, Harry Magdoff, Ernest Feder, Teresa Hayter, Noam Chomsky, Arundhati Roy, Norena Hertz, Naomi Klein, Kishore Mahbubani, Thomas Piketti, Rana Dasgupta and Hervé Kempf, to mention just a few. Also not new is that their exposures and calls for action have in the long run not changed society.

INCORPORATED

New is that most of these authors are no longer seen as dangerous outcastes who have to be silenced or at least ignored. They are co-opted or incorporated by the dominant system and seen as part of the intellectual class. Many are regularly discussed in universities and in the media.

EQUALLY ROGUE

In the Non-West economic growth shows itself in a rogue character that has no parallel. In Jakarta, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai, Lagos, Sao Paulo, Moscow, Delhi, Johannesburg, Beijing, Caracas, Bandung or Cairo there arises a generation of arrogant, aggressive, ultra-materialistic new wealthy people that unleash a savage type of capitalism. They benefit from both cheap labor at home and liberalization and privatization policies initiated by the World Bank and the IMF.

Meanwhile, this rogue capitalism is not only seen as an unavoidable stage in economic development as happened in the West, but is increasingly expected to not calm down, as in the West, and remain as it is. Along with this reality, the West, after a relatively 'calm' period, now breeds an equally savage type of capitalism. In this state, western capitalism gets closely related to its savage partners elsewhere while now operates on a more equal footing.

GROWING CARE

Along with the rise of global economic roguishness, protests are changing in character. They seem to transform from street marches, riots and outright physical violence, under the banner of class struggle and led by trade unionists, politicians, generals and guerilla fighters, to the undermining of the credibility of political systems and private corporations by growing information, including the use of social media. The awareness results in boycotts of political elections and questionable consumer goods.

Next to that, initiatives arise which focus on psychological and spiritual change at the personal level. Inner peace is hoped to divert attention to the rat race of the economic growth model and a growing care for the inner self, other people and the physical environment.

SCARCITY

So far, proclaiming that continued economic growth will ultimately destroy the planet and human life has neither stopped large masses of people from aiming at more consumption, nor stopped the ultra-rich from their roguish practices. The first key question is how long and in what ways economic growth will remain to be jointly embraced by the masses and the ultra-rich. The second key question is at what point in time a looming environmental disaster will make the roguish rich start reserving sparse resources for themselves. The third key question is whether the masses will let the gap between rich and poor grow further or finally start open fights with the roguish rich and narrow the gap.