A growing global push to treat inequality as an economic emergency is misplaced and risks distracting from the issues that matter most to ordinary people, according to an economist based at Stellenbosch University, Johan Fourie.

The argument follows recent calls by the G20 and leading economists, including Joseph Stiglitz, to address what they describe as a global “inequality emergency”, with more than 83% of countries recording high inequality levels. (High inequality is defined as having a Gini coefficient level , a measure of inequality, of above 0.4, with 0 reflecting perfect equality – where everyone has the same – and 1 perfect inequality – where one person has everything.)

But Fourie cautions that the focus on inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, risks elevating the wrong target. While inequality can be reduced through drastic interventions, such measures do not necessarily improve living standards or expand opportunities.

Instead, he argues that poverty and social mobility are the metrics that matter, as they directly shape whether individuals can improve their lives.

Fourie’s analysis also challenges the idea that inequality is a modern phenomenon driven primarily by capitalism. Drawing on long-run historical research, Fourie shows that inequality has been a persistent feature of human societies for centuries, often only disrupted by major shocks such as wars or pandemics.

In South Africa, the roots of inequality run far deeper than the 20th century. Evidence from the Cape Colony suggests that extreme wealth concentration was already entrenched as early as the late 1600s, with high inequality both between and within social groups, including the first European settlers.

More recent data complicates the narrative further. While racial inequality has declined since 1994, inequality among black South Africans has increased, contributing to persistently high overall levels.

Globally, however, the rise of market economies has coincided with a dramatic fall in extreme poverty, as growth, trade, and technological progress expanded access to opportunity.

Fourie concludes that, while inequality can shape political power and deserves attention, it is an imperfect proxy for human welfare. The real policy priority, he argues, should be reducing poverty and strengthening the pathways that allow individuals to move up the economic ladder.