1 - Why increasing inequality is a danger to us all The shrinking middle class A declining consumer base A threat to democracy An increase in crime Deteriorating family life Ill health and early death Inadequate, dangerous, and crowded housing Bettering oneself is difficult Sliding economic stabitily caused by wealth inequality How much is enough? Social justice and the very rich 2 - The battleground of ideology: theories and underlying values surrounding the explanation of income inequality Marx and the capitalism A capitalist viewpoint: the market mechanism in sociology Capitalism continued: the market in economics Of Marx and markets: the dynamics of international political economy Toward a world system: development and dependency theories Capitalism in retreat: world markets and development theory 3 - Economic inequality around the world The debt crisis and world recession Austerity, income inequality, and the third world Income distribution and available data Gini ratios: a single measurement of income inequality How income inequality has changed: a cross-national comparison A case analysis of absolute versus relative income inequality: the economic "miracle"of Brazil 4 - Multinational corporations: income inequality and basic needs The rise of multinational corporations Multinational penetration and income inequality: do periphery countries benefit Meeting basic human needs in poor nations 5 - Apple pie and economic pie: the american path to a smaller slice "Mourning" in America The decline of American affluence The Growth of poverty The decline in wages Deindustrialization and decline wages The working poor The war with labor The decline of income Jumping ginis: the surge in relative income inequality The role of demographic changes 6 - Sunset in the sunbelt: how geographic variation hides income inequality Whistiling dixie to auld lang syne: the south grows richer as the north declines Flight from the social wage: "the south shall rise again" The bloom is off the magnolia blossom The Grand Canyon of income inequality: gaps of income within regions and between coutries Relative income inequality: where the grass is greener Footloose Factories, Mexico, and NAFTA 7 - Dealing from the top of the deck: some alternatives and strategies for needed change Perceptions of inequality Mass media and manipulation What is to be done?