Strain, writes, "median household income grew by 43% between 19 (the last year for which data is available). And it turns out that when economists control for household size and use an accurate measure of inflation, " the story of stagnating wages was mostly wrong." Indeed, as Michael R. But even in the United States, apparent reductions in the middle class are explained in part by households bumping up into higher income categories. That the rest of the world is catching up to us probably doesn't make anyone feel better, either. In Europe and North America, concerns about the death of capitalism stem mostly from flat or slow economic growth for basically all of the 21st century. As U2's Bono, who has spent a great deal of time and energy trying to help the developing world, will tell you, "commerce, entrepreneurial capitalism takes more people out of poverty than aid-of course, we know that." (To be sure, the legendary frontman is no anarcho-capitalist, telling a crowd at Davos this year that while "capitalism has taken more people out of poverty than any other 'ism'… it is a wild beast that, if not tamed, can chew up a lot of people along the way.") China is nobody's idea of a pure capitalist economy but it has clearly moved in that general direction over the past several decades. For instance, it was only last fall that a "global tipping point" was reached, meaning that "half the world is now middle class or wealthier," according to researchers at the Brookings Institution. How did that happen? By bringing increasing levels of market forces to bear around the planet, especially in the developing world. Source: Brookings Institution, Projections by World Data Labīut before we bury capitalism, it's worth pointing out that rumors of its demise are greatly exaggerated. You can't swing a dead grumpy cat these days without hitting headlines declaring the imminent death of capitalism, the failure of capitalism, and the rebirth of socialism.
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