Theme Of Inequality In The Hunger Games

Do the Hunger Games promote greater inequality than that which exists in the real world today?

The Hunger Games cover many themes but an ongoing topic in the Hunger Games is power.

The Hunger Games is a novel about the "haves" and the "have nots" that is, the people who have money and the people who don't. The Capitol has money. Gobs of it. While the Capitol is wealthier than all of the districts, some districts are more privileged than others, so they can train their tributes to do well in the Hunger Games – a competition they see as a way to gain glory and fame. The poor districts? Well, not much of an advantage there. District 12, Katniss's district, is an impoverished coal mining region that never stands a chance in the Games. They

The chance of her name being drawn is very slim compare to those of us who live in the Seam. Not impossible, but slim. And even though the rules were set up by the Capitol, not the districts, certainly not Madge's family, it's hard not to resent those who don't have to sign up for the tesserae.”
The tesserae make the poor in District 12 more vulnerable during the reaping (that is, the selection of the tributes). The result is a tension between the upper and lower classes, such as we see in the interaction between Gale and Madge, the rich mayor's daughter.

I try to imagine assembling this meal myself back home. Chickens are too expensive, but I could make do with a wild turkey. I'd need to shoot a second turkey to trade for an orange. Goat's milk would have to substitute for cream. We can grow peas in the garden. I'd have to get wild onions from the woods. I don't recognize the grain, our own tessera rations cook down to an unattractive brown mush. Fancy rolls would mean another trade with the baker, perhaps for two or three squirrels. As for the pudding, I can't even guess what's in it. Days of hunting and gathering for this one meal and even then it would be a poor substitution for the Capitol