Wealth Accumulation: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Abstract This article examines the social and economic impact of the greatly vaunted process of personal wealth accumulation. Recent decades have seen a significant surge in the level of privately owned wealth in the UK, other rich nations and globally. Yet this wealth boom is not associated with an historic boost in innovation and business performance or a faster rate of growth. The article examines the case for distinguishing between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ wealth. ‘Good’ wealth derives from activity which contributes to the common good and wider societal progress, while ‘bad’ wealth occurs when disproportionate and unmerited power is used to seize a larger slice of the economic pie at the expense of others. The evidence is that a significant proportion of growing wealth pools has come through appropriation and transfer, imposing widespread costs on society. Tackling this requires governments to adopt strategies to boost good and limit bad wealth accumulation.