Top Economist Links ISIS & Inequality
Middle Eastern oil monarchies who are keeping large proportions of their populations living in a state of ‘semi-slavery’ are partly responsible for the rise of Isis terrorism, acclaimed French economist Thomas Piketty said this week.
Writing in French newspaper Le Monde the author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century Thomas Piketty said jihadists are using inequality to justify their actions and gain popular support and specifically linked the Paris attacks to the oil elites.
“These are the regimes that are militarily and politically supported by Western powers, all too happy to get some crumbs to fund their [soccer] clubs or sell some weapons,” he suggested.
“No wonder our lessons in social justice and democracy find little welcome among Middle Eastern youth.” (Independent )
His comments appeared as ‘artists, musicians, and cultural leaders of America’ including Dead Kennedys mainman Jello Biafra, MC5’s Wayne Kramer, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Mac guru Steve Wozniak publicly declared their support for anti-inequality US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on his website.
“We — the undersigned artists, musicians, and cultural leaders of America — are excited to endorse a new vision for our country,” the endorsement message explains.
“It’s a vision that pushes for a progressive economic agenda.
It’s a vision that creates jobs, raises wages, protects the environment, and gets big money out of politics.
“We endorse Bernie Sanders to become the 2016 Democratic Nominee for President of the United States of America.”
