Oxfam’s demand doesn’t even make logical sense
Another of those reports having a good old whine about how unfair the world is.
The number of billionaires has surpassed 3,000 for the first time, and the level of billionaire wealth is now higher than at any time in history.
OK. The level of human wealth is higher than at any time in history too. We’d all rather expect there to be more at any particular level if the total itself has increased. We’re also told that this total billionaire wealth is some $18 trillion or so (that’s us reading off a not very clear chart). A reasonable guess at total global wealth is $470 to $500 trillion. Who has under 4% of something isn’t really one of those things we get overly worried about.
But Oxfam isn’t being logical about this either. The complaints are all about global wealth. The solution, apparently, is (among other things, TBF):
Every country should work towards an income Gini coefficient of less than 0.3…..
Why? This is a political demand about income, not wealth. It’s also a political demand about income inequality within each country - just arbitrary lines on a map - and nothing to do with income inequality across the world. But the evidence being used to lead to this - political, note - demand is wealth inequality across the species.
It’s very tempting to just assume that Oxfam is having a whinge about summat and then parrotting the usual wibble about income inequality. So tempting that that’s what we will assume.
Why this is illogical is that income inequality across the species, over the globe, has been falling these recent decades, is currently falling - for yes, the poor countries are growing faster than the rich and no, it is not all about China - and thus we should be celebrating, those of us who worry about human inequality, that the world is becoming a better place. That this coincides with - or even is caused by - an increase in the wealth of billionaires is one of those oh well, and? things.
Why we might even assume that as income inequality is falling Oxfam has had to find something else to whinge about. So tempting is that that we will so assume.
We might even move little further along the logical track and just assume that Oxfam is just looking for a justification for the usual demand for punitive taxation of the rich and as the poor are indeed becoming better off faster than those with already higher incomes another excuse has had to be found. The logic be damned.
Tim Worstall