Economic inequalities have been increasing within countries as the top ten per cent decile gets richer, and the bottom 50 per cent becomes poorer. Both income and wealth inequalities represent a key problem when addressing the problems our societies face, as these issues increase the economic divide among citizens, and can result in social upheavals. Furthermore, as wealth inequality grows at a faster pace than income inequality, a handful of billionaires accumulate excessive amounts of money at the same time that hundreds of millions are barely able to survive under the extreme poverty line.

These staggering economic inequalities are caused by many societal issues, rooted in the structure of our economy. The lack of functioning education systems, structural racism and discrimination, large generational inequalities, among other issues are an impediment for minorities and less privileged groups to fully develop their economic freedoms.

A society with large inequalities and lack of equal economic opportunities tends to be more divided, and hence, the support for democracy becomes less straight-forward. The trust in democratic institutions tends to decrease when people do not feel considered in its policy outputs. Therefore, as inequalities arise, and as the social and economic conditions of the citizens worsen, the legitimacy of the democratic state may decrease.

In this way, supporting economic policies that aim at bringing back the ‘left-behind’ can have a potentially positive consequence in the support for democracy, and the development of inclusive and sustainable societies. The left behind may include a wide range of social groups. Therefore, our approach to tackling the lack of equal economic opportunities is through an intersectional and green perspective that takes into account the relevance of human diversity and the current environmental crisis.