Can Ed Reform Address Inequality?

Public protests around the world in recent years—led mostly by middle class citizens—have highlighted concerns about inequality as a potential source of political instability in today’s global economy. The blitzkrieg of public attention being paid to economist Thomas Piketty’s critique of the capitalist model, for example, would have been inconceivable years ago, when the magic of the market was delivering record rates of growth in countries around the world. And then the bubble burst in 2009. The middle class proved to be particularly vulnerable and particularly frustrated.