How do we square the inequality that is a natural byproduct of our market-based economy with the equality principle we hold dear? Is inequality worse than ever before? Will our politics self-correct or are we spiraling out of control?

These questions and more are answered by today's foremost public intellectuals—Walter Russell Mead, Francis Fukuyama, Robert Reich, Tyler Cowen, Sebastian Mallaby, and others—in this thought-provoking collection of essays from The American Interest magazine.