The plutocrats aren't on the run yet, but they're starting to feel some serious heat. A reckoning, of sorts, may be under way on the uneven playing field known as Western capitalism.

This represents a major shift from recent years, when the growing inequality of wealth was baked into public policy and private action alike. The backlash is on, and it's overdue.

Corporate PR people in public companies are going to have to recognize that platitudes will no longer suffice in ...