Economic Inequality — Populism's Rallying Cry

Populists on both the Left and Right have a narrative to push. According to this narrative, when economic inequality rises, the middle class suffers and the American dream dissipates. When the government combats inequality, conversely, the middle class rises and the American dream prospers. Let us call this the inequality fable. It is a tale the Left has been telling for over a century, though patriotic Americans on both sides of the aisle have been rallying around it with passionate intensity since the Great Recession of 2007, facts be damned. The full story, a Rousseauian mythos complete with historical revisionism and a dose of nostalgia, is summed-up well by former labor secretary Robert Reich in his book Beyond Outrage.