The phenomenon of widening economic inequality in America is the overarching theme running throughout Saving Capitalism. Reich emphasizes the significance of this theme in his Introduction and elaborates on it in subsequent chapters, progressively building the supporting evidence and argument. Reich sees widening inequality as a sign and symptom of an unbalanced power system: He traces the reasons for this and suggests remedies. Solving this problem is the main purpose of his book, as evidenced by his subtitle, “For the Many, Not the Few.”

Defined as the unequal distribution of income and economic opportunity in society, economic inequality is a worldwide issue. In recent decades, it has become a significant characteristic of the American economic system, and the US is the most economically unequal nation in the G7. Much of Reich’s work on this theme relies on providing evidence to debunk popular myths on the existence of American equality (both economic and democratic), economic and social mobility, and opportunities available for all. It is part of his key purpose to show that the ideals of democratic civilization are being undermined in practice by a pervasive system that serves the interests of those at the top. Reich explains that for three decades after World War II, the wages for typical American workers doubled, “just as the size of the American economy doubled” (xi).