DOMESTIC
VANDERBILT POLITICAL REVIEW
Do you hear the people sing?
Current inequality debates distract from the true issues at hand
by JULIE BABBAGE ‘14
Do you hear the people sing,
singing the songs of angry men?
It is the music of a people who
will not be slaves again.
F
rom the finale of the worldwide
musical sensation Les Misérables,
members of the audience and students of history alike recognize the significance of these compelling lyrics.
They represent the essence of the
French Revolution, the ultimate boiling point of the lower and middle-class
majority who--starving, seething, and
desperate--unite against the aristocratic
minority. Social and political upheaval
results in chaos with countless atrocities
committed on both sides. At this point in
Les Misérables, the peasantry declares
justice is no longer a wish but a demand.
Albeit extreme, the French Revolution is a chilling reminder of the possible consequences of severe economic
inequality, that every disenfranchised
population has its boiling point.
The musical came to mind while
reading a recent Politico column titled
“Which Side of the Barricade Are You
On” by Doug Sosnik, an American political strategist and former advisor to President Clinton. The article “warns of a rising populist tide that threatens to swamp
Republicans and Democrats alike.”
Currently, American are more disatisfied and distrusting than ever of our
economy, our government, and each other.
A recent AP poll shows only one in three
Americans say they trust one another.
Those who trust the government fall into an
even smaller minority, approximately one
in five according to a Pew survey. Gallup
reported the lowest government satisfac-
14
tion rate in its history, with just 18% being
“satisfied.” Not even happy, just satisfied.
Add to that a sluggish economic recovery, a poor job market, and the fact that
wealth inequality is reaching proportions
unseen in U.S. history. Cautious optimism
has finally emerged as the public hears reports of job creation and GDP growth, but
the benefits are overwhelmingly skewed.
According to a recent article in The Economist, “95% of the gains from the recovery
have gone to the richest 1% of the people.”
This is causing the clamor for wealth redistribution to grow louder. And stronger.
The lesson from Les Mis is that if
government fails to satisfy the masses,
they will eventually do something about
of society. History is instructive here.
Some say wealth redistribution is a
panacea; others call it a plague. A look
at history, however, indicates wealth redistribution to be a natural and necessary
process that occurs time and time again to
keep peace and prosperity. It is certainly
not a cure-all, but if it is disregarded,
things can get ugly.
Kevin and Ariel Durant explain why
in their book Lessons of History. Wealth
gaps occur natural H YH