Also, among first world nations crime rates and inequality have been shown to be directly proportional to each other. Like, it's the only strong correlation statisticians could find amongst the first world regarding crime rates. And people tend to trust each other more as inequality falls.
Redistribution can work. I mean, its been done before. Obviously you can't confiscate wealth without provoking violent resistance, but other methods - progressive taxation combines with large social spending, renegotiation of consumer debts - have successfully produced a peaceful redistribution of wealth in the past. History is littered with societies whose political and social structure was annihilated by class warfare(the Roman Republic, the Byzantine empire in the 11th century, the French revolution, etc.), but there are plenty of examples where inequality reached a crisis point and redistribution occurred peacefully - Solon's reforms and 1930s America are the most famous examples. In America's case, it wouldn't be too hard to put back in highly progressive taxes and improvements on bankruptcy law. The political talking heads would denounce it, but get enough public pressure and it can be done.
Also, as an aside, Europe is completely screwed unless Germany agrees to support the debt much more strongly than it's willing to now (not happening, Merkel is already walking on very thin ice with the German public already), or if the members of the EU come to their senses and realizes the Euro zone is a disaster without some fiscal integration and the Union needs to be able to spend or borrow money as a whole. Viva la eurobonds.
