ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the traditional theories of income and wealth distribution, in order to clarify their implications in terms of the interpretation of inequality and outlines some of the major biases affecting mainstream economics. It examines the multidimensional nature of inequality. The chapter also explores some of the reasons why the models of capitalism theory can be relevant for better studying globalized and multidimensional inequality. Since its origin, economics as a science has granted a lot of attention to income and wealth distribution which are assumed to be the main economic determinants of inequality. The multidimensionality issue becomes more and more important as the awareness of the constraints caused by the existence of a ‘maximum sustainable inequality threshold’ (MSIT) for the economy increases. Varieties of capitalism are originated by variety in interrelated sub-systems, whose main domains are the product markets, the labor markets, the financial markets, social protection, education and innovation.
