Economic Inequality and Power Imbalance in the United States: The Role of Globalization

Abstract

Social inequality has become a challenging social phenomenon in many advanced countries. Individuals are affected by social divisions of race, gender, economic, cultural, and political structures. Among these social divisions, income and power inequality have become the major political preoccupation in most developed countries. In the United States, income disparity between the upper and middle classes has been increasing for several decades. While the top 1% earners who contributed to 10% of the U.S. national income in 1980 increased to 20% in 2016, the bottom 50% earners who contributed to 20% of national income in 1980 decreased to 13% in 2016. There have been several interpretations of this phenomenon but from a globalization point of view. This study, therefore, explores the phenomenon of economic and power inequality from a globalization standpoint. Using intersectionality as the theoretical framework, this paper explores how various social constructs intersect in a globalized economy to create income and power disparities. The author adopts a systematic literature review approach to identify gaps, contradictions, inconsistencies, interpretations, and connections in the literature relative to the phenomenon being explored. The findings will add to the scholarly literature on socioeconomic inequality and provide meaningful recommendations to improve U.S. social policies.

Keywords

• inequality
• globalization
• social class
• intersectionality
• power