Early in his argument about inequality Stig]itz includes a sho1t histo1ica] overview, beginning with the once widespread belief that wealth and poverty are divinely ordained. Once a "vast urban...

Early in his argument about inequality Stig]itz includes a sho1t histo1ica] overview, beginning with the once widespread belief that wealth and poverty are divinely ordained. Once a "vast urban underclass" had aiisen in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, "it became imperative:' Stiglitz w1ites, "to £ind new justifications for inequality." Wbat justifications have become the most compelling om:s in our time' Is StigLltz opposed co inequality, or does he regard it as a problem that society \viii never fitlly solve? Does he regard it as a problem at all?