2018 | Martyna Berenika Linartas | TrAndes | 

Not only has been economic inequality on the rise, but also the research agenda on
inequality has moved decisively from the fringes to the center of policy and academic
interest. This new concern and concentration in respect to this topic, data records,
and methodological approaches have given rise to a vast amount of literature. It is for
this reason that Linartas reviews the most important recent works engaging with the origins
of economic inequality – a debate which remains highly controversial. 

The usual categorization to explain the different storytelling – “to be or not to be neoliberal” –
seems inappropriate. In this review on “the rockstars of the realm” (Thomas Piketty,
Anthony Atkinson, Branko Milanovic and Walter Scheidel), Linartas argues that the question
and reason behind different approaches is instead: politics or the economy, which is
the master that defines the space for action?