Friction is now between global financial elite and the rest of us

The anger and frustration felt by hard-working people who have seen their wages and job security steadily diminish is fuelling a populist revolt against the political establishment

The standard explanation for why average working people in advanced nations such as Britain and the United States have failed to gain much ground over the past several decades and are under increasing economic stress is that globalisation and technological change have made most people less competitive. The tasks we used to perform can now be done more cheaply by lower-paid workers abroad or by computer-driven machines.

The left's standard solution has been an activist government that taxes the wealthy, invests the proceeds in excellent schools and in other means that people need to become more productive, and redistributes to those in need. These prescriptions have been opposed vigorously by those on the right, who believe the economy will function better for everyone if government is smaller, public debt is reduced and taxes and redistributions are curtailed.

In the wake of the junk-bond and takeover mania of the 1980s, economic risks were shifted from corporations to workers

Those whose income derives from profits - execs, Wall Street traders and shareholders - have done exceedingly well