The great divide

Tom Wolfe's 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities, a satirical portrait of the decade in which it was published, was driven by an acute awareness of the growing socioeconomic divisions between people. Tragically, though, the 1980s look like a far more egalitarian age than the present, when you consider the findings of a team of researchers including Thomas Piketty - findings that illustrate the complete fallacy of trickle-down economics.

(Thanks to Ian for the link.)