INEQUALITY INC.How corporate powerdivides our worldand the need for a newera of public actionINEQUALITY INC. Contents2ContentsAcknowledgements 3Foreword by Bernie Sanders, United States Senator 5Foreword by Rokeya Rafique, Executive Director, Karmojibi Nari 6Executive summary 7Chapter 1: A Gilded Age of division 161.1 A brutal world for billions of people 181.2 A wonderful world for the few at the top 201.3 Corporate profits surge during this time of crisis 221.4 The link between corporate power and extreme wealth 23Chapter 2: A new era of monopoly power 252.1 Monopolies fuel inequality 262.2 Peak monopoly power 272.3 Big Pharma, Big Tech, big everything 282.4 Monopoly money 312.5 Learning lessons from the past 312.6 From democracy to plutocracy 32Chapter 3: How corporate power fuels inequality 333.1 Rewarding the wealthy, not the workers 343.2 Dodging taxes 383.3 Privatizing public services 413.4 Driving climate breakdown 44Chapter 4: Towards an economy for all 474.1 A radical increase in equality must be humanity’s most urgent priority 484.2 Reining in corporate power: three practical steps 494.3 Room for hope 54Endnotes 55Interactive use For digital users, please click on the contents page to go to the desired section. To return to the contents page, click on the heading at the top left of the page.INEQUALITY INC. Acknowledgements3This publication is copyright, but the text may be used free of charge for the purposes of advocacy, campaigning, education, and research, provided that the source is acknowledged in full. The copyright holder requests that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, permission must be secured and a fee may be charged.Email: policyandpractice@oxfam.org.uk.The information in this publication is correct at the time of going to press.Published by Oxfam GB for Oxfam International under DOI: 10.21201/2024.000007Oxfam GB, Oxfam House, John Smith Drive, Cowley, Oxford, OX4 2JY, UK.Photo creditsCover photo: Garment workers protest to demand an increase in minimum wages in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 31 October 2023. Photo by Kazi Salahuddin Razu/NurPhoto via Getty Images.Page 7: Aerial view of a luxury dive boat in the Maldives. Photo by Aleksei Permiakov/Getty Images.Page 16: Mumbai cityscape, Maharashtra, India. Photo by Adrian Catalin Lazar/iStock Images.Page 25: Hand holding puppet strings. Photo by Sveta Zi/iStock Images.Page 33: A factory worker assembles shoes at the Lien Phat factory in Binh Duong province, Vietnam. Photo by Aaron Joel Santos Images/Shutterstock.Page 47: In the UK, millionaires proposing a solution to inequality project the words ‘TAX WEALTH NOT WORK’ on to the Bank of England. Photo by the Patriotic Millionaires UK.Acknowledgements © Oxfam International January 2024Lead...
