Poverty, not inequality, is the source of social ills

Conservatives are upset that Pope Francis‘ recent tweet “inequality is the root of social evil” was meant as a nod to French economist Thomas Piketty‘s 500-plus page controversial bestseller, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, which warns that Western capitalist countries are headed for ever-widening inequality.

That the Pope is on Piketty’s side is hardly a revelation given that he has previously blamed “unfettered” capitalism for perpetuating oppression, tyranny and every other ill on God’s great planet. But he was wrong then, and wrong now.