The mainstream narrative over the past several decades suggests that inequality is not a significant concern; That so long as the material conditions are going up on average, inequality doesn’t matter; That as long as you’re raising the income ceiling and the floor, the gap between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have nots does not matter.

But here’s the thing: It does matter!

Understanding inequality is incredibly important, not just to make sense of the economy as a whole but to make sense of political trends, as well.

Robert Reich is the former US Secretary of Labour, and has spent many, many years studying inequality. He is a Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He co-founded inequality media and is the author of books such as ‘The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It’ and ‘The Common Good’.

We speak to Robert Reich on why inequality matters.

Robert Reich will be a speaker at the International Social Wellbeing Conference 2024 organised by KWSP happening on the 4-5 of June.

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