Global Inequality in Sociological Perspective: The Intersection of Political Economy, Public Policy, and Social Justice
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Abstract
Global inequality the systematic and persistent disparity in economic resources, political power, and social opportunities across nations and within societies represents one of the most consequential and theoretically rich problems in contemporary social science. Despite decades of economic growth, the period from 2000 to 2024 has witnessed not a convergence of global living standards but their persistent and in some respects deepening divergence: the top one percent of the global population now commands 45.6 percent of total global wealth, while the bottom fifty percent holds only 1.6 percent. This article develops a comprehensive sociological analysis of global inequality through an integrative theoretical framework that brings together the political economy tradition (Wallerstein's world-systems theory, Harvey's accumulation by dispossession, Piketty's capital dynamics), social justice theory (Rawls's difference principle, Sen's capability approach), and public policy analysis (redistribution mechanisms, fiscal capacity constraints, global governance failures). Through systematic qualitative literature review and secondary analysis of global and Indonesian inequality data from major international databases, the study examines three interrelated dynamics: the structural mechanisms through which global capitalism produces and reproduces inequality across and within nations; the public policy frameworks available for addressing inequality and their structural limitations; and the social justice principles that should guide inequality reduction efforts in both national and global governance. Applied to the Indonesian case which exhibits persistently high wealth concentration despite significant poverty reduction the analysis identifies the tax capacity gap, informal economy informalization, and illicit financial flow problem as the most critical structural constraints on effective inequality policy. The findings argue for multi-level governance reforms that address inequality at the global structural level alongside national policy interventions.
Keywords
accumulation by dispossession; capability approach; global inequality; Harvey; Piketty; political economy; Rawls; Sen; social justice; world-systems theory
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