Message by CSSI Directors

Social inequality—the uneven distribution of opportunities, conditions, rights, and access to resources—is one of the most pressing problems in the world today. Extreme disparities in income and wealth have led to the deprivation and exclusion of some and the disproportionate influence and power of others. Unequal societies tend to be less healthy and cohesive. Prolonged inequality leads to deep social divides, cultures of undemocratic governance, and polarisation in politics and decision-making. This, in turn, complicates the resolution of other human problems, such as the climate crisis, that require solidarity and collective action.

After decades of spectacular development and growth in wealth and well-being, we in Singapore have, in recent years, become more cognisant of how these gains are unevenly distributed. In various spaces—schools, government, companies, and civil society—we are discussing more vigorously than before the practical problems and ethical dilemmas that stem from inequality and imagining appropriate responses and solutions.

Given the centrality of the issue on the national agenda as well as the growing local and international community of scholars across disciplines doing research on inequality, we think it is timely to enhance and amplify the contributions of academics and academic knowledge. Research, undertaken intentionally and thoughtfully, can deepen understanding of inequality–how it comes about, what forms it takes, how sustained or widespread it is, how it changes over time, the conditions in which it improves or worsens, and its complex effects on economy, society, polity.

The Centre’s work in the years to follow is guided by two major aspirations: to develop and consolidate critical and systematic data and analyses of inequality so that ongoing debates and conversations can be informed by rigorous knowledge. Understanding that the issue is too important to live only within academic circles and behind paywalls, we hope to nurture a scholarly community oriented toward scholarship for the public good and to develop relationships, channels, and capacities that can bridge the gap that too often separates scholarly research from the public.

It is 2025. The founding of a centre for the study of social inequality, unimaginable just a few years ago, speaks to changes that have already occurred in our society’s collective commitment to inequality as a problem. We believe research and knowledge are crucial for further generating ideas for solutions and for continuing to energise society’s collective response to an urgent social problem. We hope colleagues, collaborators, allies, and fellow members of Singapore society will agree.

 -> Teo You Yenn and Shannon Ang, February 2025