This article seems like a classic case of theoretical discussion with little to no practical significance.<p>"In reality, it is precisely the other way around. In reality, it is the waste collectors, the nurses, and the cleaners whose shoulders are supporting the apex of the pyramid. They are the true mechanism of social solidarity."<p>Jobs such as waste collection will be completely automated away in the next decade. I suppose machines then will be the true mechanism of "social solidarity"?<p>"But there is also a second way to make money. That’s the rentier way: by leveraging control over something that already exists, such as land, knowledge, or money, to increase your wealth. You produce nothing, yet profit nonetheless. By definition, the rentier makes his living at others’ expense, using his power to claim economic benefit."<p>It seems like the author believes that any gain to one group can only happen at the expense of another. Yet we know this to be false - the pie can and does get bigger.<p>"revealed that much of the financial sector has become downright parasitic. How instead of creating wealth, they gobble it up whole."<p>Agree, but curious to understand which industry the author doesn't define as parasitic? All companies want to expand and grow relentlessly, that's just the nature of capitalism. Cable/Telecom? Oil and gas? High Tech? All of them have become "parasitic" if that's how the author wants to define it.<p>"Higher taxes on the ultra-rich can make rentierism less attractive, precisely because society’s biggest freeloaders are at the very top of the pyramid. And we can more fairly distribute our earnings on land, oil, and innovation through a system of, say, employee shares, or a universal basic income."<p>Wrong. Higher taxes, though welcome, will not be the solution. Nor will universal basic income. How does one not understand that with the rise of automation, the rich are about to get so much richer, no matter how much you plan on taxing them. And basic income, though beneficial, won't fix class inequality either, in fact it might just exacerbate it.<p>Let's talk about something the author fails to even mention: Education. Class inequality is fixed by education equality. Period. End of story. The rich in the USA have access to far better education, and THAT is the true source of the rising inequality.