Blaming immigrants is so 2016. Now society’s favourite scapegoats are rich people. More in Common, an NGO that combats polarisation, has polled people in six European countries about the social impact of Covid-19. Which of 17 groups emerged from the pandemic deserving praise? “Medical staff” came first, “wealthy people” last.
Which groups did governments care too much about? “Wealthy people” were first, then “big business owners”. Support for caps on executive pay ranged from 73 per cent in the Netherlands to 90 per cent in Italy. Even higher numbers wanted big business to forgo tax havens.
Taxing the rich may now be the most consensual proposition in politics. It looks like the next political trend. Surveys for Rainer Zitelmann’s recent book The Rich in Public Opinion found much the same: large majorities in the US, UK, France and Germany backed “substantially” higher taxes for millionaires. Even most US Republicans support a wealth tax, if it’s not called that.