Tim Noah: The Great Divergence

I think what interests me most about this growing economic inequality in the States, worse than at any time since the Great Depression, is the phenomenon of 'alienation.' ......But if the structural makeup of society becomes a rigged game, where the outcome does not matter because most if not all of the gains will go to the top, and most of the work and pain will be sent rolling downhill, people become alienated from that system once they realize its a no win game.

Let me start by conceding a point that conservatives often make: Yes, a certain amount of income inequality is necessary in a capitalist system. You have to let the market reward effort and skill. But a system in which inequality of incomes constantly increases over time is worrisome... it creates alienation...

I also think that the social deterioration of the working class described in Charles Murray’s recent book Coming Apart—out-of-wedlock births, dwindling church attendance, etc.—is largely attributable to the Great Divergence. Murray perversely insists that it’s entirely cultural, but if you ignore that then his book does a pretty good job describing what happens to a society in which people lose their sense of common purpose."

                                  ................... Jesse's Cafe Americain