This episode introduces a virtual symposium of academics, students and practitioners who believe inequality is the issue of our time. We draw expert opinions of those from King’s College London, the London School of Economics and the University of Sydney. Inequality is a compelling problem that shows us the urgent need to find a solution through these dialogues. This episode looks at the importance of contextualizing inequality. And we do this through discussion of Thomas Picketty’s book “Capital in the 21st Century,” and Mike Savage’s cutting-edge book, “The Return of Inequality.” Inequality takes many forms. We combine understandings of the weight of history with the economic frames of income and wealth inequality and do this to recognize the conditions that create and reproduce inequality between groups in society.
Show Notes
In this episode:
We introduce a virtual symposium of academics, students and practitioners who believe inequality is the issue of our time. We draw expert opinions of those from King’s College London, the London School of Economics and the University of Sydney. Inequality is a compelling problem that shows us the urgent need to find a solution through these dialogues. This episode looks at the importance of contextualizing inequality. And we do this through discussion of Thomas Picketty’s book “Capital in the 21st Century,” and Mike Savage’s cutting-edge book, “The Return of Inequality.” Inequality takes many forms. We combine understandings of the weight of history with the economic frames of income and wealth inequality and do this to recognize the conditions that create and reproduce inequality between groups in society.
About this series:
This three-part series of dialogues is led by Dr. Johnna Montgomerie, Professor of International Political Economy, at Kings College London. In this virtual symposium, we’ve called on experts from the politics of inequality working group at King's College, London, and sought out our colleagues at other universities to share their ideas, research, and proposals to help explain what it means to call inequality issue of our time. We wanted to examine who was unequal, what causes inequality and why it's an urgent area of study.
Key Contributors:
We’re an interdisciplinary team across King’s College London (@KCL), University of Sydney (@Sydney_Uni), London School of Economics (@LSEInequalities) and Progressive Economics Forum (@PEF_online).
Kings College London:
Progressive Economy Forum:
London School of Economics:
University of Sydney:
- Prof. Lisa Adkins, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sydney. Follow: @AdkinsProf
- Prof. Martijn Konings - Professor of Political Economy and Social Theory at the University of Sydney.
- Their book: The Asset Economy
Key Texts:
What is Inequality. The Issue of Our Time?
Inequality – The Issue of Our Time is a three-part series of dialogues led by Dr. Johnna Montgomerie, Professor of International Political Economy, at Kings College London. For many, inequality is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century because it erodes prosperity and destabilizes society. Many of us can recognize inequities whether about race, gender, climate, or the historical geographies of inequality caused by colonialism. Inequality is another word for the serious social challenges facing society that are woven into the very fabric of daily life and are deeply unjust.