The rich are getting richer while many more are getting poorer. Recent
statistics once again demonstrate this law of capitalism, which has existed
throughout capitalism's history, throughout the world. It continues today in
the most dramatic fashion.
The United Nations Human Development Report for 1996 lays out all the
glaring statistics about inequality. One of the most scandalous statistics
is that the very rich are getting much richer. The assets of the world's 358
billionaires exceed the combined annual income of the world's 2.3 billion
poorest people--45% of the global population. The report states that the
"world has become more economically polarized between countries and within
countries."
The United States has one of the greatest income disparities, and the
greatest number (141) of billionaires. From 1975 to 1990 the wealthiest 1%
of the population increased its control of total assets from 20% to 36%
while the bottom 60% experienced a decline in income. The richest 4% stole
as much as the bottom 51% earned. The income ratio between the top 20% and
bottom 20% is 9 to 1.
Redistribution of Wealth No Solution
What should be done about this constantly increasing income gap? Should
the rich be taxed? Will redistribution of the wealth solve the problem? Do
these solutions even consider the objective laws of capitalist development?
For decades the statistics have shown the increased disparity of wealth
and the hugely bloated incomes of the richest handful. These statistics are
consistent with the tendency within capitalism toward monopoly. With
increased monopolization there are fewer but many times more wealthy
individuals at the top.
In capitalism, there is a dialectic between competition and monopoly.
One way the monopoly corporations make maximum profits is to span the globe
competing with their rivals by either finding cheaper ways to make their
products, or moving to an "emerging market", or finding a cheaper source of
raw materials. But these advantages last only a brief time, as the
competitors discover the same methods and the average rate of profit falls.
The other tendency is to eliminate the competition and reach a monopolistic
position by colluding with competitors to form cartels or buying them out.
Today these multi-billion dollar mergers are occurring on a world scale.
The competition among these massive monopolies and imperialist powers is
becoming fiercer, as smaller numbers of giant monopolies dominate the globe.
This increased competition threatens war, as the big powers fight it out for
markets and spheres of influence.
The unparalleled accumulation of wealth in a smaller number of hands
cannot be separated from the impoverishment of billions of people on a world
scale and the trend of governments to cut social spending and claim no
responsibility towards its citizens.
Redistributing the wealth of these billionaires would not solve the
problems. Taxing the rich would merely redirect the funds from certain
capitalists or sectors to others. Taxes are controlled by the state, which
acts to serve the needs of the capitalist class as a whole. The lion's share
of the taxes go to the financial oligarchy and funding for the imperialist
war machines.
Giving the money to the poor would also not change the character of
capitalism. If the assets of the billionaires were seized and distributed to
the world's poor, it would double their income for one year. The change for
many would be insignificant. The wealth distributed would end up as means of
consumption--enriching those capitalists who sell the necessities the poor
buy. The basic social relations of capitalism, with its billionaires and
paupers, would remain.
To eliminate poverty and the human disgrace of 358 billionaires at one
end and 2.6 billion impoverished at the other, the economic base of society
must change. The aim of the economy must be to meet the needs of the people.
The capitalists seek to dampen the outrage of the people who daily
confront the brutal inequality in society by proposing various kinds of
"redistribution" of wealth. The tendency for the rich to get richer and the
poor poorer is a law of capitalist development, and can only be eliminated
by the working class seizing political power through revolution.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
