How to Fight Inequality

Inequality is the crisis of our time. The growing gap between a few at the top and the rest of society damages us all. No longer able to deny the crisis, every government in the world is now pledged to fix it – and yet it keeps on getting worse.  In this book, international anti-inequality campaigner Ben Phillips shows why winning the debate is not enough: we have to win the fight. Drawing on his insider experience, and his personal exchanges with the real-life heroes of successful movements, he shows how the battle against inequality has been won before, and he shares a practical plan for defeating inequality again. He sets a route map for us to overcome deference, build our collective power, and create a new story.  Most books on inequality are about what other people ought to do about it – this book is about why winning the fight needs you. Tired of feeling helpless in the face of spiralling inequality? Want to know what you can do about it? This is the book for you.

Acknowledgements Introduction Inequality is the fight of our time Winning the fight needs you This book is to help you win the fight Why we need to win the fight against inequality How inequality is worsening How inequality harms us all Journal: The mining indaba and the protesters How we won the debate Journal: The IMF research department slams inequality Journal: Will no one defend the tax dodgers? Why winning the debate is not enough and we have to win the fight How we won the fight against inequality before Why looking back can help us plan forward When the region most hit by inequality became the region leading progress to turn it around Journal: ‘Organized we are powerful’ – lessons from the Brazilian land rights movement When people’s organizing secured an international ‘Golden Age’ When the forces for inequality inflicted our biggest defeat, and what we can learn from our opponents Learning from history in the fight against inequality Journal: Great campaigns have lots of things in common, but they’re not the things we’re often taught How we’ll win the fight against inequality again ‘It always seems impossible until it is done’ The policies to fight inequality, and how to secure them Overcome deference Journal: The unquiet – challenging inequality in Pakistan Build power together Journal: Challenging the power of the one per cent at the World Social Forum in Tunis Create a new story Journal: Inspiring courage on inequality, the Pope Conclusion Journal: The three types of campaigns Appendix: Who can you link up with to fight inequality Index