Social Exclusion in Europe

The Times Online has an interesting article on the possibility of a new "Iron Curtain" between Eastern and Western European countries (see article). This new regime has little to do with communism however, but with the ways in which capitalism is creating gaps between the "haves" and the "have nots."

Eastern European countries gave an apocalyptic warning yesterday of hordes of unemployed workers heading west as a new Iron Curtain divides rich from poor inside Europe

This is a clear example of how economic inequality can matter in generating political inequalities that can threaten the stability of social institutions such as the European Union.