Policy-makers the world over urgently need to address the growing divide between haves and have-nots. Science has much to tell them – if only they would listen
WITH the UK general election campaign in full swing and candidates for the US presidency starting to declare themselves, it's becoming clear that one issue is central to debate on both sides of the Atlantic: inequality.
Not many politicos are talking about it directly. But the gulf between the haves and have-nots shows up in wrangling over everything from tax avoidance to benefit cuts, property ownership, corporate power and the erosion of the middle class.
The arguments tend to focus on economics and politics. But that overlooks the contribution that science can make. As we reported nearly three years ago, science has much to say about inequality's causes and effects, from patterns of income distribution to the health consequences of living in unequal societies (28 July 2012, p 37). But these insights have not made their way into mainstream political debate.
Now comes a further twist: a society's level of inequality appears to be driven by the kinds of energy at its disposal. Foraging societies tend to be very equal and agrarian ones very unequal; those powered by fossil fuels fall in between (see "Morality is rooted in the way societies get their energy").
This new way of looking at the problem is very broad-brush, and its implications are not yet clear. It could be used to defend the status quo: inequality in today's Western societies is actually quite low by historical standards. On the other hand, it is rising – and those historical standards are not necessarily desirable.
But the new analysis could be the start of a deeper debate that connects two of the key issues of our times. Just as with inequality, concern about our energy use is evident all over the political map, on issues ranging from defence to the environment.
The deep connection between the two has so far had little attention from academics, let alone politicians. Now that the fossil fuel economy is reaching the end of the road this needs to change. On both issues, science is speaking; politicians would do well to listen.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Bridging the divide"
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