Roughly 500 people gathered at The New School’s Tishman Auditorium last Thursday to hear economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz talk about his newest book, “The Price of Inequality.” The discussion, moderated by New School President David Van Zandt, touched on the effects of economic inequality in America and the proposed solutions mentioned in Stiglitz’s book.
“It was my perception that inequality had grown to a level where it was undermining our economy, democracy and society,” said Stiglitz, who teaches economics at Columbia University and won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2001. “What disturbs me is that America is no longer the land of opportunity.”
Stiglitz has published several books on the faults of the free-market system and how selective government intervention may help stabilize such economies. He said that he aimed to destroy the myth of “trickle-down economics,” which theorizes that benefits like tax cuts and incentives provided to the wealthy can lead to capital trickling down to everyone.
Stiglitz cited the fact that many Americans are living in more economically segregated communities today than ever before. He added, however, that the problem of economic inequality in America today is by no means unprecedented, or insurmountable.
“There have been other periods in our history where there have been comparable measures of inequality,” Stiglitz said. “My hope is that as people understand how equality has decreased, we will once again pull back from the brink,” he said.
Stiglitz was joined in the discussion by Michael Cohen, director of the New School Graduate Program in International Affairs, and Teresa Ghilarducci, director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at The New School for Social Research.
Ghilarducci said she agreed with Stiglitz’s sentiments, adding that “an economy that is equal is an economy that works better.”
After the event, Janet Merkel, a Ph.D. student visiting from Hamburg, Germany, said she thought the panel was “too complimentary” of Stiglitz and could have been “more controversial.” But Nicolae Prytz, a climate science major at Columbia University, had a more positive review of the night.
“I thought it was interesting, especially in light of the fact that these are issues that are central to the current political campaign,” Prytz said. “[Stiglitz] made such a compelling argument, and as an audience member, it was hard not to nod my head because it sounded so logical.”
Charlotte is majoring in Journalism + Design at Eugene Lang College and graduated high school in Bamberg, Germany. Her father is a soldier so she grew up moving around a lot. Outside of her interest in journalism, she is an aspiring novelist & screenplay writer who dabbles in acting. Charlotte loves reading, writing, road trips, red wine, videogames, music, sketch comedy and tennis.
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