With news out that the 85 wealthiest people own as much as half of the world’s population, even the IMF and George Osborne have woken up to the idea that vast disparities of wealth might not be sustainable. Is this just talk, or will those who run the ‘Market Farm’ we are all living in, actually change their policies? Or are we like ancién regime France, where many can see what the problem is, but no one the solution.

Bailing out the banks in a way that protected shareholders, bondholders and high earners at the expense of ordinary taxpayers was the first great injustice. The second is now wreaking even greater damage. As my satirical novel of the same title examines, credit is at the heart of the problem and the unprecedented levels of credit creation by central banks are mainly succeeding in pushing up asset prices, benefiting those with assets and those who live by trading them at the expense of everyone else. Strange to relate, however, as someone with socialist leanings, it is mainly my libertarian friends who perceive this and agree with me.