Your source is an institution primarily funded by EU state apparatus, as shown on their on website. No shit they determined that some EU countries have less inequality than some socialist countries.
The problem in the methodology for comparing inequality in socialist countries vs capitalist countries comes from a few main factors:
More developed countries (as in higher GDP per capita) have less inequality than less developed countries. Communism has mostly spawned in post-colonial countries which have had only 70 years at best to develop and industrialize, compared to the 200 years of many western nations. A fairer comparison would be with countries of similar levels of development or similar starting points before socialism was implemented, for example comparing Cuba with Haiti or China with India.
Capitalist countries mainly provide access to goods and services through income/wealth, whereas socialist countries provide access to such things additionally through other methods. For example, if the economically poor (income + wealth) population in a socialist country are given housing for free or very cheap, universal access to healthcare and education, direct food aid either by state or community means, access to land for growing their food, good quality public transit systems, or access to sports and cultural facilities, this won’t appear as a form of income or wealth for the poorer percentiles.
The whole thing can be disproven by measuring actual outcomes at equal levels of development instead of measuring equality by means of income or wealth. Scientific studies measuring quality of life metrics instead of wealth or income have reached the conclusion that socialist countries provide better life outcomes at equal level of development compared to capitalist countries. If inequality truly was higher in socialist countries than in capitalist ones, we would expect worse life metrics, not better ones.
Your source is an institution primarily funded by EU state apparatus, as shown on their on website. No shit they determined that some EU countries have less inequality than some socialist countries.
The problem in the methodology for comparing inequality in socialist countries vs capitalist countries comes from a few main factors:
More developed countries (as in higher GDP per capita) have less inequality than less developed countries. Communism has mostly spawned in post-colonial countries which have had only 70 years at best to develop and industrialize, compared to the 200 years of many western nations. A fairer comparison would be with countries of similar levels of development or similar starting points before socialism was implemented, for example comparing Cuba with Haiti or China with India.
Capitalist countries mainly provide access to goods and services through income/wealth, whereas socialist countries provide access to such things additionally through other methods. For example, if the economically poor (income + wealth) population in a socialist country are given housing for free or very cheap, universal access to healthcare and education, direct food aid either by state or community means, access to land for growing their food, good quality public transit systems, or access to sports and cultural facilities, this won’t appear as a form of income or wealth for the poorer percentiles.
The whole thing can be disproven by measuring actual outcomes at equal levels of development instead of measuring equality by means of income or wealth. Scientific studies measuring quality of life metrics instead of wealth or income have reached the conclusion that socialist countries provide better life outcomes at equal level of development compared to capitalist countries. If inequality truly was higher in socialist countries than in capitalist ones, we would expect worse life metrics, not better ones.