The politicization of a sociofact: exploring economic inequality in the global age

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! The!politicization!of!a!sociofact:! exploring!economic!inequality!in!the!global!age! ! _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________! ! Manuel!Arias-Maldonado! University!of!Málaga!(Spain)! [email protected]! ! IPSA%2016,%23-28%July%2016,%Poznan.% Panel:%Is%Economic%Inequality%a%Political%Problem! ! DRAFT!-do!not!quote!without!permission.! _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 1! 1.!Mapping!out!the!terrain:!inequality!and!politics.! ! Inequality!is!back!as!a!public!concern!in!Western!democracies,!and!so!is!the!question!about!how!to! deal!with!it!politically,!i.e.!political!decisions!are!expected!to!restore!acceptable!levels!of!inequality! rather!than!to!set!up!a!regime!of!complete!equality!among!citizens.!The!logic!behind!this!request!is! also!purely!political:!as!Branco!Milanovic!has!argued!in!his!sober!treatise!on!global!inequality,!if!the! latter! leads! to! the! rise! of! collective! anger! and! hence! populism,! democracies! become! severely! endangered,!affected!by!a!lack!of!legitimacy.!What!an!acceptable!level!of!inequality!is!cannot!be!said! easily,!just!as!it!is!neither!easy!to!predict!when!will!a!given!degree!of!inequality!will!be!perceived!as! unacceptable.!The!key!to!that!dilemma!is,!precisely,!the!perceived!quality!of!both!psychopolitical! states:!it!depends!heavily!on!public!moods!and!private!perceptions,!as!well!as!in!the!effect!of!political! discourses!and! mobilizations.!Yet!it!seldom! is!a!capricious!thing,!responding!usually!to!external! economic!shocks!-mostly!a!recession-!that!trigger!the!feeling!of!being!empoverished.!This!feeling,!in! turn,!is!grounded!in!two!main!comparative!operations:!whether!a!subject!is!better!off!as!compared! to!her!past!self!and!as!compared!to!other!people.! ! These!nuances!are!relevant!if!we!try!to!answer!the!question!about!the!political!nature!of!inequality.! Is!inequality!a!political!problem?!Or,!to!put!it!differently,!is!it!in%itself!a!political!problem,!or!just!a! social!problem!that!may!or!even!must!be!transformed!into!a!political!problem?!Might!it!also!be!the! case! that! we! can! conceive! of! problems! whose! political! quality!is! partial! or! can! be! measured! in! degrees?! ! What!those!intrincacies!show!is!that!inequality!possesses!an!unescapable!social!dimension.!It!is!a! relation!between!subjects!that!compare!themselves!with!each!other!within!a!social!order!that!makes! inequality!possible!or!does!not!hinder!its!production.!However,!the!sources!of!inequality!must!be! identified,!because!if!inequality!is!attributed!to!differences!in!natural!talents!or!abilities,!the!state! could!only!impede!it!via!a!brutal!equalizing!of!socioeconomic!conditions!that!would!be!totalitarian! in!nature!-while!differences!themselves!would!remain,!as!some!people!would!be!more!intelligent!or! pretty!or!even!happier!than!other.!Of!course,!a!more!reasonable!standpoint!can!be!adopted,!so!that! what!matters!is!that!natural!differences!do!not!lead!to!too!large!social!differences,!a!task!that!would! pertain!politics.!Somebody!could!even!argue!that!such!differences!are!not!completely!natural,!as!a! tragic!loop!can!take!place!if!someone!is!born!disadvantaged!and!thus!deprived!of!the!chance!to!move! upward,!but!could!improve!her!lot!if!that!lack!of!opportunities!is!dealt!with!politically.!This!claim! could! hold! even! if! we! assume! that! a! part! of! those! natural! differences! belong! to! each! genetic's! hardware,!in!a!twofold!way:!by!recurring!to!epigenetics!or!by!stating!that,!in!such!case,!the!individual! is!hardly!responsible!of!her!fortunes,!so!that!the!reasons!for!political!intervention!are!firm.! ! For!the!purposes!of!this!paper,!inequality!will!be!understood!as!a!real!or!perceived!difference!in! socioeconomic!status!among!individuals!that!may!be!at!least!partially!corrected!by!the!state.!That!is,! inequality!is!seen!as!tractable!by!political!means,!irrespective!of!the!effectiveness!of!the!solutions!so! adopted.!If!the!problem!could!not!be!solved!at!all,!as!seems!the!case!with!natural!differences!among! individuals,! it!could!hardly! qualify!as!a!problem!in!the!first!place.! On! the! other!hand,!a!political! problem!is!defined!as!one!that!arises!from!the!political!organization!of!society,!so!that!if!society!were! organized!differently!from!the!outset!the!very!problem!-an!unacceptable!degree!of!inequality-!would! never!manifest!itself.!What!remains!to!be!explored!is!thus!whether!inequality!is!in!itself!a!political! problem!and,!depending!on!the!answer,!whether!it!is!justified!to!deal!with!it!as!such.! ! This!paper!is!organized!as!follows.!First,!the!question!about!the!sources!of!inequality!will!be!explored! together!with!the!tractability!of!the!latter!as!a!political!problem.!Secondly,!the!reasons!for!the!current! increase!in!inequality!are!reflected!upon,!in!order!to!add!collective!phenomena!at!the!macrolevel!to! the!more!basic,!even!prepolitical!considerations!made!in!the!first!section.!Thirdly,!the!problems! posed!by!envy!and!resentment!will!be!considered,!so!that!the!key!role!of!perception!is!highlighted.! Finally,! a! conclusion! is! offered,! whereby! both! capitalism! and!inequality! are! seen! as! prepolitical! features!of!the!species!that!however!must!be!politically!approached!and!dealt!with,!lest!an!excessive! ! 2! degree!of!inequality!threatens!the!general!benefits!provided!by!an!unavoidable%but%acceptable!level! of!socioeconomic!inequality.! ! 2.!The!prepolitics!of!inequality.! ! Inequality's!rentrée!in!the!public!and!academic!debate!has!been!marked!by!a!French!touch.!It!makes! sense,! since! the! attention! to! inequality! is! actually! a! very! French! thing! -a! concern! that,! in! its! socioeconomic!sense,!has!been!brought!to!the!global!spotlight!by!Thomas!Piketty's!unlikely!bestseller.!Its!first!edition,!published!in!France,!did!not!stir!such!scholarly!passions!as!the!translation!to! English!has:!after! all,! the! topic!is!always!present! in!the! French! conversation,! whereas!economic! stratification!has!not!traditionally!had!such!traction!in!the!American!collective!psyche.! ! At!least,!that!is!how!journalist!Gillian!Tett!explained!Piketty's!sudden!success!in!the!anglo-saxon! world.!The!French!economist!would!dispel!the!myth!of!equality!in!freedom!-according!to!which,!in! opposition!to!an!European!tradition!plagued!by!inherited!privileges!and!entrenched!interests,!any! American!citizen!should!be!able!to!enrich!herself!through!work!in!a!meritocratic!society1.!But!data! do!not!seem!to!support!this!principle!anymore,!or!not!just!now!-and!that!is!why!inequality!is!back!to! mainstream! politics.! Yet! it! would! be! unfair! to! say! that! inequality! has! been! absent! in! the! US! conversation,!since!the!most!influential!piece!of!political!theory!published!in!the!second!half!of!the! twentieth!century!was!not!written!in!Paris!but!in!Harvard!and!had!inequality!-the!goal!of!assigning! resources!fairly!within!a!society-!as!a!central!theme:!John!Rawls'!A%Theory%of%Justice2.!From!New! England!has!also!come,!much!more!recently,!a!brief!work!by!Darun!Acemoglu!and!James!Robinson! which,!from!an!institutionalist!standpoint,!present!a!deep!critique!of!Piketty's!thesis3.! ! My! purpose! in! this! section! is! to! dwell! on! arguments! like! those! presented!by! Rawls! and! Acemoglu/Robinson!-against!Piketty-!in!order!to!highlight!the!unsurmountable!difficulties!that!pose! the!goal!of!equality.!By!doing!so,!I!hope!to!explore!the!prepolitics!of!inequality.! ! Piketty's!work!has! been! widely!discussed.!His! main! arguments!are! well-known:!challenging!the! Kuznet's!curve,!Piketty!claims!that!inequality!does!not!tend!to!disappear!as!economies!mature.!As!a! result,!capitalism!would!not!be!able!to!neutralize!the!inequality!that!it!generates.!The!main!reason! lies!in!the!formula!r% > %g,!according!to!which!capital!provides!greater!returns!than!labour.!With!the! passing! of! time,! this! explains! the! accumulation! of! wealth.! If! the! latter! is! passed! on! between! generations,!inequality!grows.!In!times!of!low!economic!growth,!inequality!grows!more!rapidly.! ! ! This! reasoning! has! been! subjected! to! a! number! of! criticisms.! Leaving! methodological! questions! aside,!one!can!make!objections!of!different!kinds:!economic!(the!role!of!technological!disruption!as! a!temporary!reason!for!the!widening!of!inequality,!the!decrease!in!global!poverty,!the!availability!of! goods! and! services! that! would! have! been! the! preserve! of! elites! yesteryear),! sociological! (the! influence!of!genetics!in!poverty),!or!normative!(inequality's!increase!could!well!be!less!important! that!greater!growth).!Yet!it!remains!the!case!that!inequality!has!increased!within!advanced!societies! and! emergent! economies,! irrespective! of! the! transient! nature! of! the! reasons! that! can! are! often! invoked!to!explain!this!evolution:!technological!change,!globalization,!financial!crisis.!This!is!where! Acemoglu!and!Robinson!step!in:!they!suggest!that!Piketty!is!affected!by!the!same!pathology!that! suffered!in!the!past!economists!like!Marx!or!Ricardo:!the!need!to!formulate!general!laws,!ignoring! the!key!role!played!by!culture!and!institutions!within!society.!So!that!the!general!law,%r% > %g,!is!not!a! given!but!one!of!the!many!factors!that!can!explain!inequality.! ! However,!if!we!free!Piketty!from!the!burden!of!theleology!and!reduce!him!to!his!essence,!he!still!has! something!important,!albeit!hardly!new,!to!say.!Or!we!can!say!something!important!dwelling!on! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!Gillian!Tett,!"Lessons!form!a!rock-star!economist",!25!abril.! 2!John!Rawls,!A%Theory%of%Justice,!Harvard,!Harvard!University!Press,!1971.! 3!Darren!Acemoglu!and!James!Robinson,!"The!Rise!and!Decline!of!General!Laws!of!Capitalism",!NBER!Working! Paper!No.!20766,!December!2014.! ! 3! Piketty.!Namely:!that!economic!equality!is!unfeasible!without!an!extreme!degree!of!coertion.!In!fact,! not!even!state!socialism!was!able!to!make!that!equality!possible!-some!were!more!equal!than!others.! This!does!not!imply!that!inequality!must!be!accepted!as!such,!in!any!forms!it!might!take;!but!it!does! imply!that!it!is!impossible!to!erradicate,!hence!forcing!us!to!limit!ourselves!to!reduce!it!if!we!decide! so.!Moreover,!these!considerations!are!prior!to,!and!independent!from,!the!debate!about!equality's! or!inequality's!desiderability:!before!we!develop!any!normative!argument!about!this,!it!is!advisable! to!know!in!which!degree!and!through!what!means!is!equality!a!goal!that!can!be!achieved!at!all.! Feasibility!trumps!desiderability.! ! For!that!reason,!it!is!helpful!to!reduce!the!problem!of!equality!to!its!most!basic!components.!This! simplification!is!akin!to!the!one!practiced!by!contractualist!thinkers!who!employ!the!fiction!of!the! state!of!nature!in!order!to!shed!some!light!on!the!question!about!the!state.!Likewise,!if!we!place! ourselves!in!some!sort!of!original!situation!as!far!as!equality!is!concerned!(leaving!aside!institutional! and!political!differences!between!particular!societies),!what!Piketty!reminds!us!is!that!the!sheer! accumulation!of!capital!makes!some!people!richer!than!other,!that!such!capital!tends!to!grow!and!is! intergenerationally!transmitted,!thus!reinforcing!the!dividing!line!between!those!who!were!able!to! stock!it!initially!and!those!who!were!not.! ! Strictly!speaking,!public!confiscation!is!not!enough!to!prevent!accumulation,!since!it!entails!a!simple! transference!of!rents!from!private!to!public!hands.!That!is!why!Piketty!himself!finds!that!wars!are! the!best!levelling!mechanisms!-and!the!greater!the!war,!the!more!radical!the!levelling.!After!a!brutal! conflict,!such!as!the!Second!World!War,!society!moves!closer!to!a!new!beginning:!a!Year!Zero!of! Equality.!According!to!Piketty,!if!wealth!is!not!even!more!unevenly!distributed!today,!is!because!not! so! much! time! has! passed! since! 1945.! In! other! words,! not! enough! time! has! passed! for! some! to! accumulate!much!more!than!others.! ! At!this!point,!Acemoglu!and!Robinson!would!protest!that!institutional!factors!-redistribution!by!the! state-!may!prevent!the!gradual!but!steady!divergence!between!the!haves!and!the!have-less.!And!so!it! seems:!Sweden!is!different!than!England.!But!in!truth!it!can!only!prevent!it!up%to%a%point,!because,! unless! the! authorities! assume! full! confiscatory! powers! and! implement! a! policy! whose! goal! is! absolute!equality,!nothing!can!prevent!that!some!people!perform!better!than!other!in!the!economic! realm!-thus!distancing!themselves!from!those!who!perform!relatively!worse!and!ending!up,!in!fact,! inhabiting!truly!different!social!worlds.!I!am!not!going!to!press!the!question!as!to!why!some!perform! better!than!others,!although!potential!reasons!abound.!One!way!or!another,!there!will!be!winners! and!losers.!In!relative!terms:!they!must!not!be!absolute!winners!and!losers!to!be!winners!and!losers! in!relation!to!each!others.! ! Therefore,!r% > %g!is!not!the!explanation!for!inequality,!but!rather!a!factor!that!helps!to!explain!the! increase!in!the!wealth!of!those!who!are!already!-by!performance!or!inheritance-!far!better!off!than! others.!Of!course,!we!could!think!of!suppressing!the!right!to!inherit,!so!that!no!wealth!could!be! transmitted!but!to!the!state,!which!in!turn!would!use!it!for!making!people!even.!However,!this!would! create!other,!arguably!more!disturbing,!problems:!incentives!for!the!initial!accumulation!of!wealth! would!be!suppressed,!thus!neutralizing!the!very!precondition!of!any!redistribution:!the!creation!of! wealth.! ! Historically,!even!in!a!"new"society!such!as!the!American!one!-free!of!the!privileges!and!burdens!that! affected!Europe!before!and!after!the!liberal!revolutions-!inequality!starts!to!be!produced!as!soon!as! society!itself!is!in!motion.!Slavery,!though,!shows!as!well!how!difficult!it!is!to!mark!a!true!Year!Zero! of!Equality!when!real!societies!are!at!play.!Still,!California!around!1835!will!be!closer!to!that!stage! than! London! in! 2014.! And! this! problem! is! acutely! highlighted! by! Robert! Nozick's! theory! of! distributive!justice!-an!answer!to!Rawls4.!Although!Nozick!will!cease!later!to!be!a!libertarian,!this! books!is!concerned!with!the!justification!of!a!minimal%state!compatible!with!the!highest!individual! freedom.! To! such! end,! he! deals! with! the! public! distribution! of! wealth,! attacking! it! wherever! it! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4!Robert!Nozick,!Anarchy,%State,%Utopia,!Malden,!Blackwell,!2008.! ! 4! threatens!individual!freedom.!For!instance,!to!reach!agreements!and!sign!contracts!-agreements!and! contracts! whose! fruits! are! distributed! while!they! are! produced.! Nozick! prefers!distribution! to! redistribution!-liberty!to!equality.! ! His!departure!point!is!well-known.!The!fairness!of!individual!(or!familiar)!possessions!depend!on! two!only!factors:!their!original!acquisition!and!its!later!transmission.!A!simple!distributive!principle! emerges!by!which!a!given!distribution!will!be!fair!if!everyone!possessions!are!legitimate.!Yet!reality! complicates!things,!as!usual,!since!it!cannot!be!ignored!that!there!exist!past!injustices.!Thus!Nozick! introduces!a!third!factor:!the!rectification!of!possible!injustices!in!the!acquisition,!possession,!and! transmission!of!goods.!Therefore,!a!person!will!possess!legitimately!her!goods! -and!will!thus!be! unequal! in! relation! to! others-! if! according! to! one! of! those! principles:!acquisition,! transmission,! rectification.!So!that!a!given!distribution!of!goods!-be!it!California!around!1835!or!London!in!2014-! will!be!fair!or!unfair!depending!on!its!history.!Nozick:! ! “The!systems!of!entitlements!is!defensible!when!constituted!by!the!individual!aims!of!individual!transactions.! No!overarching!aim!is!needed,!no!distributional!pattern!is!required.!(...)!From%each%as%they%choose,%to%each%as% they%are%chosen"5.! ! If!these!principles!are!applied!equally!to!all!before!a!society!puts!itself!in!motion!-in!the!Year!Zero!of! Equality,! be! it! politically! created! anew! or! recreated! via! the! rectification! of! past! injustices-! the! emergence! of! inequalities!among! individuals! will! be! justified! and! nobody,! according! to! Nozick,! should!have!the!right!to!correct!them.!In!this!context,!the!accumulation!of!wealth!derives!from!the! economic!interplay!and!does!not!require!any!rectification!if!no!injustice!is!made.!For!Nozick,!any! theory! of! justice! based! upon! an! structural!principle! of! distribution! is! unacceptable,! because! it! determines!ex%ante!who!ends!up!having!what,!thus!interfering!with!personal!liberty.!A!distribution! is!fair!when!its!historical!origin!is!fair,!whereas!public!redistribution!must!be!guided!by!an!abstract! principle!and!thus!cannot!be!legitimate.! ! What!is!interesting!here,!though,!is!that!not!even!a!libertarian!thinker,!whose!main!goal!is!to!protect! the!sanctity!of!individual!agreements,!can!ignore!the!uneven!opportunities!and!possessions!inherited! from!the!social!past:!the!unavoidable!distance!that!separates!us!from!Year!Zero.!In!this!regard,!no! matter!how!reasonable!Nozick's!principle!of!rectification!may!appear,!its!implementation!would!be! so!difficult!that!it!would!never!be!considered!fully!realized.!What!counts!as!a!past!injustice,!how! should!the!latter!be!rectified!exactly,!when!is!the!victim!redeemed?!Slavery!is!a!perfect!example!of! the!obstacles!that!faces!any!such!rectification.!Injustices!cannot,!in!fact,!be!rectified.! ! That!said,!is!the!inequality!produced!afterwards!-once!an!equal!society!is!in!motion-!permissible?!An! inequality!that!is!the!outcome!of!a!socioeconomic!process!where!all!depart!from!the!same!position.! ! Much!depends!on!what!that!"same!position"!means.!If!inequality!stems!from!differences!in!talent! and!skills!between!individuals!-Rawls'!"natural!lottery"-,!we!could!protest:!no!individual!can!be!held! responsible!for!her!innate!abilities.!On!the!contrary,!if!such!differences!are!taken!as!a!consequence! of! our! common! humanity,! another! rule! of! the! social! game,! then! the! inequality! that! is! gradually! produced!due!to!the!disparate!performances!of!individuals!(and!groups)!would!be!defensible.! ! In!a!recent!book,!economist!Robert!Frank!has!emphasized!the!role!that!luck!plays!in!our!lives6.!In!his! view,!the!contingency!of!birth!possesses!a!decisive!importance!for!the!outline!of!our!biographies,! since! being! born! in! different! social! groups! determines! the! extent! of! our! opportunities! and! the! strength!of!the!security!net!we!can!rest!on!if!we!fail.!The!latter!point!is!relevant,!insofar!as!what!we! do!with!our!unequal!talents!and!abilities!will!also!differ!depending!on!how!many!chances!we!enjoy! to!get!it!right.!Moreover,!Frank!argues,!we!tend!to!think!that!we!have!conquered!with!our!effort! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5!Robert!Nozick,!op.%cit.,!2008,!p.!159-160.! 6!John! Rawls,! op.% cit.,! 1971;! Robert! Frank:! Success% and% Luck:% Good% Fortune% and% the% Myth% of% Meritocracy,! Princeton!University!Press,!Princeton,!2016.! ! 5! everything!that!we!have!achieved,!thus!overlooking!the!key!part!that!luck!plays!in!life.!Merit!would! then!be!a!delusion!that!is!hard!to!deactivate!-we!are!the!apparent!protagonists!of!our!lives,!so!that! successes!are!ours!and!failures!are!attributed!to!exogenous!causes.!Frank!claims!that!this!collective! mirage!is!created!by!the!formal!proclamation!of!meritocracy.!If!individual!merits!are!the!product!of! innate!factors!and!systemic!forces,!why!should!the!loser!be!punished?! ! As! it! happens,! that! initial! inequality! reinforces! itself! with! the! passing! of! time,! because! of! the! accumulation!of!capital!and!its!transmission!via!inheritance.!Year!Zero!would!be!farther!away!in!the! past!and!we!would!end!up!with!the!same!initial!problem:!the!disadvantages!among!individuals!who! do!not!hold!the!same!position!when!beginning!their!lives.!As!a!result,!an!inequality!that!seemed!fair! insofar!as!it!derived!from!an!original!equality!of!opportunity!ends!up!curtailing!the!latter.!Inequality! becomes!thus!a!labyrinth!that!has!no!exit!-just!as!equality.!Needless!to!say,!contemporary!debates! are!not!concerned!with!an!absolute!inequality,!but!with!the!degree!of!inequality!that!is!permissible:! for! those! who! wish! to! be! equal,! for! those! who! wish! to! be! unequal.! It! would! be! good! if! this! conversation! dealt!with! feasible!equalities! and! inequalities,! yet! this! is! not! always! the! case:! sometimes!an!unfeasible!equality!is!demanded,!and!the!same!goes!for!inequality.!! ! Now,!the!beauty!of!of!Rawls'!solution!is!that!he!reduces!the!argument!to!its!essential!components.! he!does!so!with!a!clever!move,!that!of!placing!individuals!in!an!"original!position"!where!their!own! personal!features!and!social!circumstances!are!hidden!under!a!"veil!of!ignorance"!when!they!are! asked!about!the!kind!of!society!they!would!support!as!preferable.!Their!answer,!according!to!Rawls,! is!a!free!society!whose!state!however!assume!legitimately!the!task!of!redistribute!wealth!in!order!to! help!the!most!disadvantages.!This!social!contract!is!thus!conceived!for!a!society!that!is!already!in! motion,!where!a!given!and!relatively!dynamic!distribution!of!abilities!and!resources!already!exist,! so!that!the!pending!task!is!giving!the!state!a!mandate!to!make!corrections!in!that!distribution.! ! But! even! in! such! society,! as! long! as! it! remains! one! where! a! market! economy! is! functioning,! individuals!will!be!conditiones!by!the!relative!position!occupied!by!their!families!when!they!are! born.!For!those!who!are!disadvantaged!in!relation!to!others,!this!situation!cannot!possibly!be!fair.!Is! it! fair,! for! instance,! that! a! teenager! inherits! a! small! fortune,! because! his! aunt! died,! whilst! his! classmate!inherits!debts!after!the!accidental!death!of!her!parents?!Maybe!it!is!not!unfair!-but!fair!is! not!either.!This!points!out!to!the!impossibility!to!guarantee!fairness!through!state!redistribution.!Of! course,!when!taxing,!one!does!not!takes!from!Peter!to!give!to!John,!as!Anthony!de!Jasay!claims:!a! Rotschild!is!taken!from,!in!order!to!give!to!John.!However,!maybe!Robert!is!receiving!state!benefits! when!he!could!work!but!refuses!to!do!so.!Or!maybe!Alex!is!also!benefiting!from!state!redistribution,! but!he!makes!enough!money!in!the!parallel!economy!beyond!state!control.!And!so!on,!and!so!forth.! ! It!can!does!be!concluded!that!equality!is!impossible,!but!too!much!inequality!is!undesirable!-as!the! global!rise!of!populism!in!our!days!comes!to!show.!Yet!it!remains!to!be!elucidated!whether!inequality! is!a!political!problem.!Before!we!answer!that,!it!is!useful!to!complete!the!reflection!about!inequality! in! the! asbtract! by! considering! how! contemporary! inequality! is! produced.! This! will! show! that! inequality!is!not!by%itself!a!political!problem,!but!rather!a!sociofact,!a!feature!of!social!relations!that! cannot!be!erradicated!yet!can!and!must!be!politicized.! ! 3.!Inequality!in!the!global!age.! ! Why!inequality!must!be!politicized!becomes!clear!precisely!in!our!times,!arguably!a! moment!of! transition!between!two!different!varieties!of!capitalism.!The!main!question!is!whether!we!can!affirm! that!an!individual!is!responsible!of!its!own!socioeconomic!destiny.!If!a!robot!puts!someone!out!of! order!after!three!decades!as!a!factory!worker!or!as!accountant,!is!he!to!blame!for!the!corresponding! fall!in!disposable!income?! ! Current! economic! turmoil! cannot! be! explained! without! taking! globalization! into! account.! Remarkably,!the!latter!reinforces!the!point!made!above!about!the!degree!in!which!birth!conditions! individual! performances! and,! ultimately,! whole! lives.! It! does! so! because! being! born! in! different! ! 6! countries!also!matters!-the!abandonment!of!methodological!nationalism!allows!us!to!see!this!from! a!wider!perspective.!In!his!work!on!globalization!and!inequality,!Branko!Milanovic!has!showed!that! while!inequality!has!increased!within!countries,!it!has!diminished!between!them,!so!that!reactions! against!globalization!!on!the!part!of!those!social!groups!that!feel!most!damaged!by!it!(blue-collar! workers!in!rich!countries,!mostly)!can!be!understood!as!a!defence!of!the!greater!"citizenship!rent"! that!enjoy!citizens!of!advanced!societies7.!This!can!be!defined!as!the!advantage!enjoyed!by!those!who! are!born!in!a!rich!country!-an!exogenous!circumstance!that!is!independent!from!individual!efforts.! Being!against!inmigration,!Milanovic!claims,!is!tantamount!to!defending!our!citizenship!rent.!We!are! defending!our!luck.! ! The!fundamental!question!concerns!the!relation!between!personal!responsibility!and!impersonal! compulsion.!The!latter!was!defined!by!Friedrich!Hayek!as!the!forceful!adaptation!to!be!made!by!most! social!actors!in!the!face!of!an!economic!or!technological!change!that!depreciates!or!neutralizes!our! abilities!or!assets8.!It!is!impersonal,!since!it!does!not!derive!from!a!decision,!but!is!rather!the!outcome! of! a! social! process! that! aggregrates! millions! of! individual! decisions! and! causal! effects;! it! is! compulsive!because!those!who!do!not!adapt!will!be!left!behind.! ! It!could!be!deduced!therefrom!that!the!state!is!obliged!to!make!a!supplementary!effort!in!exceptional! times,! i.e.! times! in! which! an! accelerated! and! radical! transformation! in! pre-existing! economic! conditions!take!place.!In!other!words:!where%a%reasonable%management%of%one's%own%life%opportunities% is%not%enough%to%secure%a%socioeconomic%position%that%is%accord%to%our%abilities.!Or:!when!one!would! like!to,!but!cannot.!After!all,!if!an!individual!acts!responsibly!and!aptly,!but!the!system!fails!him,!it! cannot!be!said!of!her!that!she!acted!irresponsibly.!Therefore,!it!would!not!be!just!to!punish!him!as%if! he!had!been.! ! However,!this!principle!is!easy!to!formulate!but!hard!to!implement.!What!exactly!is!"a!reasonable! management!of!one's!own!life!opportunities"?!If!a!person!completes!a!degree!in!Architecture!or! Journalism!and!steps!in!a!market!saturated!with!architects!and!journalists,!whose!fault!is!that?!Tha! same! goes! for! someone! who! makes! a! bad! management! decision! or! misses! obvious! business! opportunities.! A! case-by-case! analysis! could! be! done,! but! which! public! administration! has! such! capacity?!This!rationale!could!also!be!applied!to!the!"socioeconomic!position!that!is!accord!to!our! abilities".!Morever,!the!compensation!sytem!that!could!be!implemented,!since!the!device!that!pushes! people!to!new!spheres!of!economic!activity!should!be!preserved,!lest!the!whole!economic!system!is! damaged!and!no!money!to!pay!compensations!exists.! ! As! a! result,! the! relationship! between! personal! responsibility! (as! derived! from! the! principle! of! autonomy)! and! impersonal! compulsion! (as! resulting! from! the! market! process)! cannot! be! easily! discerned.!Yet!it!is!a!troublesome!relationship!that!cannot!be!disdained!by!invoking!the!primacy!of! personal!liberty!(that!makes!individuals!ultimately!responsible!of!everything!that!befalls!them)!or! by!doing!just!the!opposite!(describing!a!deterministic!mechanism!where!individual!actors!disappear! under!the!sheer!oppresive!force!of!systemic!structures).!A!basic!economic!fact,!that!derives!from!the! basic!political!fact,!is!hinted!at:!the!impossibility!to!reconcile!the!individual!and!the!collective!realms.! The!interplay!between!the!micro!and!the!macro!levels!is!similar!in!both!cases:!the!capitalist!economy! produces!innovations!that!are!benefit!to!all,!but!punishes!particular!groups!and!members!of!such! society!during!the!process.!Unless!we!suppress!economic!competence!upon!which!markets!depend,! these!two!perspectives!are!irreconciliable.!This!reality,!as!inequality!itself,!is!tragic.!It!cannot!be! solved,!although!its!-their-!most!destructive!consequences!can!and!should!be!alleviated.! ! In!sum,!the!reasons!that!explain!the!increase!in!inequality!in!the!global!age!reinforces!the!view!that! inequality!is!not!a!political!problem!in!itself,!but!a!sociofact,!i.e.!a!feature!of!social!relations!that!exist! in!any!given!social!body.!As!societies!become!more!complex,!however,!the!abilities!of!individuals!to! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 7!Branko! Milanovic,! Global% Inequality.% A% New% Approach% for% the% Age% of% Globalization,! The! Belknap! Press,! Cambridge!y!Londres,!2016.! 8!Friedrich!Hayek,!The%Constitution%of%Liberty,!Routledge,!Londres,!2006,!p.!140.! ! 7! make! individual! progress! are! weakened,! while! a! basic! social! protection! is! granted! by! the! state.! Differences!in!birth!gain!importance!as!social!mobility!is!reduced!-and!the!farther!we!are!from!a!Year! Zero,!the!greater!inequalities!tend!to!be.!As!a!result,!inequality!becomes%a!political!problem!due!to!a! growing!social!discontent!and!an!increasing!propensity!to!protest!on!the!part!of!those!who!are!or! feel!left!behind!when!compared!to!others.!Politicization,!even!a!pre-emptive!politicization,!is!thus! advisable.! ! 4.!Political!emotions!and!inequality.! ! We!may!well!agree!that!inequality,!not!being!a!political!problem!but!a!social!feature,!must!however! be!politicized!in!order!to!preserve!a!democratic!social!order!-or,!reversely,!to!pull!down!a!nondemocratic!one!where!inequality!is!reinforced!by!social!and!economic!structures!that!prevent!social! mobility.!Yet!this!politicization!brings!about!its!own!problems,!which!I!would!like!to!discuss!briefly! in!order!to!highlight!how!difficult!it!is!to!deal!politically!with!this!issue.!Above!all,!I!would!like!to! highlight!resentment,!a!political!emotion!that!usually!makes!itself!visible!during!economic!crisis!and! takes!the!form!of!a!dennounciation!-that!of!an!unfair!treatment!that!in!turn!demands!reparation.!In! fact,!it!could!well!be!seen!as!akin!to!Nozick's!rectification!principle:!the!complaint!would!not!concern! the!ilegitimate!possession!of!goods,!but!rather!the!resentful!citizen!claim!that!he!is!dispossessed!for! illegitimate!reasons.!The!resentful!citizen!describes!the!harm!she!has!suffered!as!unjust,!opening!the! door!for!a!social!change!that!is!repairing!in!nature.!Martha!Nussbaum!thus!claims!that!resentment! is!a!moral!emotion!that!entails!an!idea!of!what!is!just9.! ! The!key!point!is!to!distinguish!between!reality!and!belief:!the!subjective!belief!that!an!injustice!has! been!done!and!its!objective!existence.!Somehow,!this!distinction!is!present!in!some!authors.!John! Rawls!argues!that!a!"rational"!subject!cannot!feel!envy,!at!least!not!while!the!differences!between! her!and!the!others!are!not!perceived!as!unjust!or!exceed!certain!limits10.!This!is!a!key!point:!if!those! differences!are!just!but!excessive,!the!individual!-albeit!rational-!will!feel!envy.!An!objective!injustice! demands!reparation,!whereas!an!imaginary!injustice!does!not.!The!process!by!which!these!emotions! are!formed!is!decisively!mediated!by!the!framing!of!the!injustice/inequality.!Instead!of!taking!anger! as!the!automatic!answer!to!the!lack!of!recognition!that!suffers!the!angered!citizen,!it!all!depends!on! the!way!in!which!that!experience!is!constructed:!there!may!be!no!injustice!at!all!or!the!latter!may!be! attributed!to!the!wrong!source11.! ! How!to!distinguish!them?!Who!is!to!decide!whether!we!face!a!real!or!imaginary!injustice?!Rawls,! while!discussing!"the!problem!of!envy"!for!a!well-ordered!society,!solves!the!problem!by!putting!the! burden!of!proof!on!the!resentful,!appealing!to!the!deliberative!dimension!of!a!pluralist!democracy:! ! "If!we!resent!our!having!less!than!others,!it!must!be!because!we!think!that!their!being!better!off!is! the!result!of!unjust!institutions,!or!wrongful!conduct!on!their!part.!Those!who!express!resentment! must!be!prepared!to!show!why!certain!institutions!are!unjust!or!how!others!have!injured!them"12.! ! In!other!words,!the!resentful!must!persuade!the!other!participants!in!the!public!conversation!of!her! good! reasons.! But! this,! being! the! only! solution,! is! however! a! tricky! solution.!Specially! since! the! relationship!between!envy!and!resentment!is!far!from!morally!edifying.!As!the!former!is!a!shameful! feeling!that!we!can!hardly!acknowledge!in!public,!the!solution!is!often!to!transform!envy!in!righteous! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 9!Martha!Nussbaum,!Political%Emotions.%Why%Love%Matters%for%Justice,!The!Belknap!Press!of!Harvard!University! Press,!Cambridge!y!Londres,!2013,!p.!344.! 10!John!Rawls,!op.!cit.,!1971,!p.!530.! 11!Simon! Thompson,! "Anger!and! the! struggle! for! justice",! en! S.! Clarke,! P.! Hoggett! y! S.! Thompson! (eds.),! Emotions,%Politics%and%Society,!Palgrave,!Basingstoke,!2006.! 12!John!Rawls,!op.%cit.,!1971,!p.!467.! ! 8! indignation!through!a!re-writing!of!the!story!we!tell!ourselves,!arguing!that!the!other!has!achieved! the!object!of!our!envy!by!illegitimate!and!inmoral!means13.! ! Social!and!political!mobilization!is,!of!course,!an!ordinary!way!of!making!demands!in!democratic! regimes.!The!problem!with!resentment-driven!protest!in!complex!societies!is!that!sometimes!the! demand!made!by!groups!or!citizens!may!be!misguided,!but!produces!political!effects!all!the!same.! Let!us!take!the!financial!crisis,!which!is!the!aggregate!result!of!so!many!decisions!that!the!blame! cannot!be!attributed!clearly!to!any!of!them.!In!countries!that!suffered!a!real!state!bubble,!like!Spain,! a!citizen!ends!up!being!economically!punished!irrespective!of!her!own!contribution!-she!might!have! rented!her!home,!in!fact.!Moreover,!economic!policy!depends!on!governments!and!governments!are! chosen!by!the!electorate,!which,!by!doing!that,!becomes!also!responsible!for!the!decisions!adopted! by!its!representatives.!In!Spain,!the!Socialist!Party!claimed,!ahead!of!the!general!elecion!in!2008,!that! no!economic!crisis!was! in!sight,!whereas!the! Conservative!Party! said!just!the!opposite.!Spanish! voters!backed!the!Socialist!Party,!thus!giving!a!mandate!to!the!ensuing!government!not!to!prevent! the!crisis.!Many!of!these!very!voters!unseated!the!President!in!the!next!general!elections,!after!he! had!been!pushed!by!events!to!make!deep!cuts!in!public!finances!in!order!to!avoid!Spain's!bankruptcy! at!the!end!of!2010.!As!it!happens,!those!who!dramatize!their!resentment!through!a!display!of!anger! have!an!advantage:!the!visibility!of!the!claim,!linked!to!a!harm,!neutralizes!any!appeal!that!can!be! made!to!the!history!of!that!harm.!Only!the!problem!we!face,!full!of!affective!force,!counts!-original! causes!do!not.! ! But!the!mobilization!of!resentment!poses!some!other!conundrums.!Firstly,!the!ability!to!be!listened! to!by!state!actors!and!to!be!granted!a!compensation!depends!on!the!group's!visibility,!in!turn!highly! dependent!on!dramatization!and!turnout.!But!nothing!guarantees!that!the!most!unfairly!treated!are! the!ones!who!get!the!attention,!nor!that!their!demands!are!consistent!or,!for!that!matter,!that!their! relative! inequality! is!the! outcome! of! an! unfair! treatment.! Secondly,! moreover,! an! effective! mobilization!of!this!powerful!emotion!can!lead!to!further!inequality!if!disadvantaged!groups!remain! invisible!or!not!attended!to.! ! Regarding!the!question!about!the!nature!of!inequality,!it!is!interesting!to!distinguish!between!envy,! emulation!and!resentment.!They!are!members!of!the!same!moral!family!--that!of!mimetic!desire-! without!being!exactly!the!same!thing.!To!differentiate!them!is!important,!in!order!to!answer!to!each! of!those!affects.!Pure!envy,!after!all,!cannot!be!satisfied.!Rawls!distinguishes!between!a!general!envy! that!is!experienced!by!the!disadvantaged!against!the!advantaged,!and!a!specific!envy!that!is!intrinsic! to! rivalry! and! competition,! irrespective! of! the! departing! point! of! the!participants.! The! most! destructive!envy!is!the!hostility!towards!other!people's!goods!although!they!make!no!harm!to!us.! However,!envy!can!be!positive!to!the!whole!society!when!integrated!into!the!market!economy,!i.e.! when!it!is!transformed!into!emulation:!the!aspiration!to!be!where!others!are.!Obiovusly,!these!fine! conceptual! distinctions! can! hardly! be! found! in! the! real! world,! where! actual! affects! will! be! intertwined.!Yet!it!is!not!the!same!thing!to!react!against!other!people's!fortunes!by!setting!up!a!firm! than!by!throwing!stones!against!a!villa.! ! In!order!to!avoid!the!negative!consequences!of!envy,!Rawls!set!up!a!double!defence!line.!On!the!one! hand,!a!number!of!basic!rights!and!redistributive!principles!oriented!to!provide!every!citizen!with! opportunities;!on!the!other,!legal!and!political!institutions!that!make!possible!to!channel!genuine! claims!on!the!part!of!those!citizens!that!think!or!feel!having!been!unjustly!treated.!This!would!not! erradicate!envy,!but!would!make!it!socially!manageable.! ! Therefore,!the!crucial!distinction!is!that!between!a!specific!or!competitive!envy!from!which!no!rights! are!deduced,!and!a!justified!resentment!that!points!towards!unjustices!that!must!be!repaired.!The! latter!are!less!likely,!but!still!possible,!in!a!democratic!society.!On!its!part,!specific!envy!is!a!natural! outcome!of!the!ordinary!functioning!of!a!liberal!society!and!a!market!economy.!This!structural!envy! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 13!Jon!Elster,!Explaining%Social%Behavior.%More%Nuts%and%Bolts%for%the%Social%Sciences,!Cambridge!University! Press,!Cambridge,!2007,!p.!158-159.!