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Inequality and the Phases of Capitalism

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  • Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira

Abstract

We live in a capitalist world characterized by economic inequality. Inequality is a real curse, but it does not have to always increase. In different phases of capitalism, it may be increasing, constant, or decreasing, depending on the dominant type of technical progress (capital-using, capital-neutral, or capital-saving), on the organizational capacity of the workers, on the competition from other countries with lower wages, and on the prevailing degree of democracy. But distribution faces an economic constraint: the expected profit rate must remain attractive to business entrepreneurs. From the mid-twentieth century, we would expect technological progress to change from neutral to capital-saving, which would allow wages to increase at a faster rate than productivity. Indeed, this happened in the Golden Years of capitalism, but such progress stalled in the succeeding neoliberal years, dominated as they were by a class coalition of rentier capitalists and financiers.

Suggested Citation

  • Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira, 2014. "Inequality and the Phases of Capitalism," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(3), pages 199-222, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:fosoec:v:43:y:2014:i:3:p:199-222
    DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2014.887589
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    Cited by:

    1. Alberto Botta, 2017. "The Complex Inequality–Innovation–Public Investment Nexus: What We (Don’t) Know, What We Should Know and What We Have to Do," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(3), pages 275-298, July.
    2. Bresser-Pereira, Luiz Carlos, 2017. "The economics and the political economy of new-developmentalism," Textos para discussão 464, FGV EESP - Escola de Economia de São Paulo, Fundação Getulio Vargas (Brazil).
    3. Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira, 2018. "Growth and distribution: a revised classical model," Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, Center of Political Economy, vol. 38(1), pages 3-27.

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