Sébastien Villemot

Mounting income and wealth inequalities are among the most pressing issues of our time. People around the world are becoming aware of their detrimental impact on our social and economic lives, and are looking for solutions. Having access to accurate and comprehensive data on inequalities is therefore crucial if we are to collectively take the right actions and decisions.

One of the lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic is that capitalism is unable to respond adequately to basic health needs because of the profit motive. The same is actually true of all other basic needs: food, housing, education, energy, care for the elderly.

Sharing is the key to solving the problems that confront humanity today. Only through sharing can economic justice be achieved. Failing that, lingering injustice will feed divisions, tensions, possibly even war. But what exactly do we mean by economic justice? What are the concrete principles that should govern the sharing of resources?

Beyond a certain level of development, growth can become harmful. Continuing with our obsession for growth is ecologically unsustainable; we have already reached the point where our material demands exceed the resources of the planet, and thus far economic growth has always led to an increase of those demands. From that perspective, the gradual waning of growth that we are witnessing in advanced economies is positive news.