The rising inequality and growing political instability that we see today are the direct result of decades of bad economic theory.

The last five decades of trickle-down economics haven't worked.

But what's the alternative?

Middle-out economics is the answer.

Because the middle class is the source of growth, not its consequence.

That's right.

This is pitchfork economics with Nick Hanauer, a podcast about how to build the economy from the middle out.

Welcome to the show.

Hey, Pitchfork listeners. I'm Freddie, producer at Pitchfork Economics. For years, economic

policy has focused on building a floor, minimum wages, safety nets, and protections meant to keep

people from falling behind. But as inequality reaches historic levels, a new question has entered

the chat. Should there also be a ceiling? This week, we're revisiting the case against extreme

wealth, a conversation with ethics professor Ingrid Robbins, who challenges the idea

that unlimited wealth accumulation is simply the natural outcome of a healthy economy.

She also asks whether extreme wealth can ever be justified in a society committed to

fairness and democracy.

We spend a lot of time talking about how far people can fall, but this conversation asks us to think just as seriously about how high wealth should be allowed to rise and what happens when an economy has a floor but no ceiling.

You've been spending a lot of time in London the past few years, Nick, haven't you?

I have.

Yeah, I don't know how much British history you've studied, but I have a little historical fact for you that you may find surprising.

Did you know that nearly 70% of the land in the UK is owned by less than 1% of Britons?

And that the vast majority of that land is owned by descendants of the Normans who invaded over a thousand years ago and stole that land.

...