经济鸿沟扩大：全球危机中富人致富

乐施会的分析显示，自2020年以来，富裕阶层的股息支付大幅增加，而工人工资却停滞不前。全球有 31 个国家向富裕股东支付的股息超过了工人工资，占全球 GDP 的 81%。 2020年至2023年间，股息实际增长了45%，而工资仅增长了3%。最富有的 1% 人从股票所有权中获益匪浅，到 2023 年，他们平均能获得 9,000 美元的股息，而普通工人需要 8 个月才能赚到这笔钱。

The Widening Economic Divide: A Global Crisis Fueled by the Enrichment of the Wealthy

日益扩大的经济鸿沟：富人致富引发的全球危机

In the words of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, "There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning." This stark reality is brought into sharp focus by compelling new data released by Oxfam ahead of International Workers' Day.

用亿万富翁投资者沃伦·巴菲特的话来说，“确实存在阶级斗争，但发动战争的是我的阶级，即富裕阶级，而我们正在获胜。”乐施会在国际劳动节之前发布的引人注目的新数据使这一严峻的现实成为人们关注的焦点。

The analysis unveils a staggering trend: since 2020, the wealthy elite, the "rich class" as Buffett terms them, have amassed extraordinary gains, leaving workers in the dust. In 31 countries, home to 81% of the world's GDP, global dividend payments to affluent shareholders have soared at a blistering pace—14 times faster than worker compensation between 2020 and 2023.

分析揭示了一个惊人的趋势：自2020年以来，富有的精英，即巴菲特所说的“富有阶层”，积累了惊人的财富，将工薪阶层远远甩在身后。在占全球 GDP 81% 的 31 个国家中，向富裕股东支付的全球股息以惊人的速度飙升——2020 年至 2023 年间，其速度比工人薪酬快 14 倍。

Global corporate dividends are projected to shatter the previous record of $1.66 trillion set last year. Dividend payouts to wealthy shareholders have skyrocketed by 45% in real terms during the same period, while workers' wages have risen by a mere 3%. The wealthiest 1%, by virtue of their stock ownership alone, pocketed an average of $9,000 in dividends in 2023—an amount that the average worker would take eight months to earn through wages.

全球企业股息预计将打破去年创下的 1.66 万亿美元的纪录。同期，向富裕股东派发的股息按实际价值计算猛增了 45%，而工人的工资仅上涨了 3%。 2023 年，仅凭股票所有权，最富有的 1% 人就平均获得了 9,000 美元的股息——普通工人需要 8 个月才能通过工资赚取这一数额。

This widening gap is of profound significance because it fuels the inequality crisis that plagues our societies. As returns on capital outpace returns on labor, the gulf between the haves and have-nots will inevitably deepen. The core of our economic system revolves around a perpetual struggle between capital owners and workers. The true measure of progress lies in the equitable distribution of the fruits of labor, empowering workers and their families, or conversely, in the concentration of these benefits in the hands of capital owners, exacerbating inequality.

这种不断扩大的差距具有深远的意义，因为它助长了困扰我们社会的不平等危机。随着资本回报率超过劳动力回报率，贫富之间的差距将不可避免地加深。我们经济体系的核心围绕着资本所有者和工人之间的永恒斗争。进步的真正衡量标准在于劳动成果的公平分配，赋予工人及其家庭权力，或者相反，在于这些利益集中在资本所有者手中，从而加剧不平等。

For the majority of the world's population, the post-2020 era has been marked by immense hardship. The pandemic dealt a devastating blow, claiming millions of lives and plunging countless more into destitution. The subsequent surge in the cost of food and essential goods has created a relentless strain on households worldwide, forcing families to make difficult choices between purchasing necessities like fuel, bread, and flour. In Malawi, where I once lived, friends struggle daily to stay afloat. Here in the UK, millions rely on food banks to stave off hunger. On a global scale, poverty remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, and inequality between the developed world and the Global South has widened for the first time in three decades.

对于世界上大多数人来说，2020年后的时代充满了巨大的苦难。这场大流行造成了毁灭性的打击，夺去了数百万人的生命，并使无数人陷入贫困。随后食品和必需品价格的飙升给世界各地的家庭带来了巨大的压力，迫使家庭在购买燃料、面包和面粉等必需品之间做出艰难的选择。在我曾经居住过的马拉维，朋友们每天都在为维持生计而奋斗。在英国，数百万人依靠食品银行来缓解饥饿。在全球范围内，贫困率仍然高于大流行前的水平，发达国家和南半球国家之间的不平等三十年来首次扩大。

In stark contrast to the plight of ordinary citizens, the wealthy elite have flourished in the years since 2020. Billionaires, numbering around 3,000 globally, are among the largest shareholders. A staggering seven out of ten of the world's largest corporations have a billionaire CEO or principal shareholder. Over the past decade, billionaire wealth has grown by an average of 7% annually. This growth rate has accelerated to 11.5% per year since 2020.

与普通公民的困境形成鲜明对比的是，自2020年以来，富有的精英阶层蓬勃发展。全球约有3,000名亿万富翁是最大的股东之一。全球最大的公司中有十分之七拥有亿万富翁首席执行官或主要股东。过去十年，亿万富翁的财富平均每年增长7%。自2020年以来，这一增长率每年加速至11.5%。

The term "shareholders" evokes a sense of democratic participation, but this notion is far removed from reality. In truth, the majority of shares and all other financial assets are concentrated in the hands of a privileged few. Research in 24 OECD countries reveals that the wealthiest 10% of households own a staggering 85% of total capital assets, including company shares, mutual funds, and businesses, while the bottom 40% possess a mere 4%. In the United States, the richest 1% controls 44.6% of financial assets, while the poorest 50% hold a minuscule 1%.

“股东”一词唤起了一种民主参与的感觉，但这种概念与现实相去甚远。事实上，大部分股票和所有其他金融资产都集中在少数特权人士手中。对 24 个 OECD 国家的研究表明，最富有的 10% 的家庭拥有令人震惊的 85% 的总资本资产，包括公司股票、共同基金和企业，而最富有的 40% 的家庭仅拥有 4%。在美国，最富有的 1% 人控制着 44.6% 的金融资产，而最贫穷的 50% 人只拥有微不足道的 1%。

Compounding this wealth concentration, the ownership of assets is dominated by men and white individuals. In the US, 89% of shares are owned by whites, 1.1% by Black people, and a mere 0.5% by Hispanics. Similarly, globally, only one in three businesses is owned by women. As a result, the burgeoning returns to shareholders primarily benefit the already affluent, further widening the economic divide.

使这种财富集中化更加复杂的是，资产的所有权由男性和白人主导。在美国，白人拥有 89% 的股份，黑人拥有 1.1%，西班牙裔仅拥有 0.5%。同样，在全球范围内，只有三分之一的企业由女性拥有。因此，股东回报的迅速增长主要使本已富裕的人受益，进一步扩大了经济鸿沟。

Addressing this inequality crisis requires multifaceted solutions. A robust approach would encompass significantly increasing taxes on the super-rich. Encouragingly, Brazil, which chairs the G20 this year, has placed tax reform on the agenda. Additionally, President Biden has reiterated his support for a new billionaire tax.

解决这一不平等危机需要多方面的解决方案。强有力的方法将包括大幅增加对超级富豪的税收。令人鼓舞的是，今年担任二十国集团主席国的巴西已将税制改革提上议程。此外，拜登总统重申了他对新的亿万富翁税的支持。

However, taxation serves as a remedy after the fact. The cornerstone of our efforts should be to prevent the economy from creating such vast disparities in the first place. Empowering workers is a crucial step in this direction. The fruits of labor should be enjoyed by those who toil, not by those who, as John Stuart Mill observed, "grow rich in their sleep without working, risking or economising." This can only be achieved through increased worker organization and the assertion of worker power. History has shown that high levels of worker power coincide with low inequality. As the International Monetary Fund has noted, declining union membership has directly contributed to the concentration of wealth at the top.

然而，税收是事后的补救措施。我们努力的基石应该是首先防止经济造成如此巨大的差距。赋予工人权力是朝这个方向迈出的关键一步。劳动成果应该由那些辛勤劳动的人享受，而不是那些像约翰·斯图尔特·穆勒（John Stuart Mill）所说的那样，“不劳而获、不冒险、不节约，在睡梦中致富”的人。这只能通过加强工人组织和维护工人权力来实现。历史表明，工人权力水平高与不平等程度低相一致。正如国际货币基金组织指出的那样，工会会员数量的减少直接导致了财富向高层的集中。

Amid this backdrop, the resurgence of strikes and the growing voice and power of workers in recent years represent a beacon of hope. While still a fraction of what is required to tip the scales in favor of workers, a new generation is awakening to the transformative power of organizing. Generation Z displays the highest level of support for unions among living generations. From autoworkers in the US to garment workers in Bangladesh, workers are rising up against their employers, demanding a fairer, more equitable world.

在此背景下，近年来罢工的死灰复燃以及工人声音和力量的增强代表着希望的灯塔。虽然还只是让天平有利于工人所需的一小部分，但新一代正在觉醒组织的变革力量。 Z世代对工会的支持程度是当代一代中最高的。从美国的汽车工人到孟加拉国的服装工人，工人们正在反抗他们的雇主，要求一个更公平、更平等的世界。

Workers worldwide must seize the reins of change and pull the levers of power back towards themselves. In doing so, they will shape the political and economic landscape towards a new era of equality.

世界各地的工人必须抓住变革的控制权，将权力杠杆拉回到自己身边。在此过程中，他们将塑造政治和经济格局，迈向平等的新时代。