The Disappearance of the Middle Classes
PIERRE-NOEL GIRAUD*
Quotations from his book L'inégalité du Monde (Gallimard, Paris 1996)
translation by ANGUS SIBLEY
From now onwards, the free development of the logic of nomadic capitalism, in a world economy with no frontiers save those that restrict the movement of people, will lead us towards a world which will tend to become more equal, as between territories, in the distribution of material wealth; but to suffer, within territories, inequalities such as we briefly thought had belonged to history. This trend would entail the disappearance, in rich countries, of the middle classes which, along with various forms of socialism, characterized the exceptional first part of the twentieth century. (page 305)
Is such an evolution inevitable? No, because the analysis will, I hope, show that there are no laws of economics, any more than there are laws of history; and this point….demands of economists a rigorous study of the multiple forms of capitalism. What should we do if we wish to modify the current trend? The epilogue will define very broadly the outlines of such freedom of action as is still possible. (pages 21 and 22)
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*Pierre-Noël Giraud is professor of economics at l'Ecole des Mines de Paris, where he directs CERNA (Centre d'économie industrielle), and associate professor at the university Paris-Dauphine. His book Le Commerce des Promesses - petit traité sur la finance moderne (Editions du Seuil, 2001 has won three prizes.