Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Defending Freedom Against Billionaire Power

It is one thing for a billionaire to buy an enormous yacht or many luxury homes around the world, but in a deeply unequal world where the majority of people have very little, and our planet is suffocating from relentless carbon emissions and waste, this excessive consumption can rightly be criticized. But many would reject this criticism, describing it as the politics of envy. 

Yet far fewer people would disagree that when a billionaire uses their wealth to buy a politician, to influence a government, to own a newspaper or a social media platform, or to out-lawyer any opposition to ensure they are above the law, that these actions undermine progress and fairness. Such power gives billionaires control over all our futures, undermining political freedom and the rights of the rest of us.