Economic Inequality In America

This article is a great explanation of some of today’s economic issues. It gives insight into the economic issues that we still face today and how economic inequality is still of relevance in modern America. Economic inequality refers to how economic metrics are distributed among individuals or groups. In this particular article the economic inequality is applied to America’s economic status.

The article explains how the wealth gap is fueled in part by demographics; where you come from and where you live can play a role in how much money you make. The wealth gap is also partly attributed to the globalization of the market. It refers to how jobs that were once held by Americans have made their way over seas for cheaper labor. In the article

I think this relates to the gilded age and the textbook, because in the gilded age Americans were asking that same question. The textbook brings up social Darwinism, which was a popular idea in the gilded age. Social Darwinism was the idea of competition in social progress and how wealth was a sign of “fitness” whereas poverty was a sign of “unfitness” for survival. The textbook mentions a quote by William Sumner, “The drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be, according to the fitness and tendency of things. Millionaires are the product of natural selection, they get high wages and live in luxury. The bargain is a good one for society” (Sumner 528). This quote explains how people viewed Social Darwinism. This shows that in the gilded age views were more extreme than they are today, but in todays world people are still making lots of money on the top of the economy and others are not. In the gilded age there was also an extreme wealth gap, just as there is still a wealth gap today. Another way that the textbook relates is it talks about how in the gilded age America was working towards becoming a superpower and economically advanced worldwide. The textbook mentions this here, “By the end of the nineteenth century, the country had achieved industrial maturity. It boasted the largest, most innovative, most productive economy in the world. No other era in the nation’s history witnessed such a transformation” (Roark 543). This quote explains that at this time period America was at its prime. In the article the author mentions a related matter. Senator Tim Kaine said, “We are either going to be the leaders, like we have been since World War II, or we’re going to step back and let other do it.” Kaine is bringing up the fact that America may step back for a change. Another