Salvaging global democratic politics requires far-reaching economic reforms | Joseph Stiglitz

Resolving economic and political inequality is vital if we want people to reject authoritarianism

There has been much handwringing about the retreat of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism in recent years - and for good reason. From the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, to the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and the former US president Donald Trump, we have a growing list of authoritarians and would-be autocrats who channel a curious form of rightwing populism. Although they promise to protect ordinary citizens and preserve longstanding national values, they pursue policies that protect the powerful and trash longstanding norms - and leave the rest of us trying to explain their appeal.

While there are many explanations, one that stands out is the growth of inequality, a problem stemming from modern neoliberal capitalism, which can also be linked in many ways to the erosion of democracy. Economic inequality inevitably leads to political inequality, albeit to varying degrees across countries. In a country like the US, which has virtually no constraints on campaign contributions, one person, one vote" has morphed into one dollar, one vote".