‘Income inequality is out of control’: Scott Galloway says ‘we risk revolution’ in America as the country’s tax policy has ‘gone full oligarch’

“Whether it’s CEOs being murdered in the street, whether it’s the ‘MeToo’ movement that had righteous components of it, or Black Lives Matter. What are these movements? They’re targeting the wealthy,” said Galloway on the show. “We are in the midst of a series of small revolutions to correct income inequality.”

Unfortunately, there’s historical precedent to suggest that Galloway’s prognosis may not be that far off — in the past, social unrest and popular revolutions have often been rooted in economic concerns and inequality.

Inequality fuels social unrest

Economic inequality risks creating social discontent, which can boil over into political conflict, according to Zia Qureshi, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Similarly, a study published in the World Development journal found that “persistent inequalities amongst and between socio-economic groups may increase social discontent and, eventually, the propensity of individuals and groups to engage in social and political unrest.”

In other words, when economic prospects are grim, many people turn to political action to turn things around. Political action can be non-violent, such as the Progressive Era reforms that emerged from the Gilded Age in the early 20th century. But political action can also become violent — take the French Revolution in the late-18th century, for example.

In the U.S., income inequality has been on the rise for decades. According to the Peter G. Petersen Foundation, the top 20% of wealthiest households in America have seen their income rise 165% from 1981 to 2021, while the middle and lowest quintiles have seen income growth of only 33% and 38%, respectively, over the same period.

The evergrowing gap between the haves and the have-nots is spilling over into unexpected political outcomes, according to Galloway.