When the fruits of change have fallen on the United States in recent decades, the very fortunate have basketed almost all of them. It takes in the raw material of innovations and produces broad human advancement. As he says:Ī successful society is a progress machine. Anand Giridharadas, a former New York Times columnist, has documented in great detail in his book Winners Take All (2018) how the dream of the American middle class has effectively evaporated. There is no shortage of data to drive home the point that there is no longer a level playing field in America. This is the reverse of how meritocracy should work.” Writing in the Financial Times in June 2019, Edward Luce provides one statistic to drive home this point: “Studies show that an eighth grade child from a lower income bracket who achieves maths results in the top quarter is less likely to graduate than a kid in the upper income bracket scored in the bottom quarter. By contrast, the affluent elites run downhill as the playing field is tilted in their favor. Today, when working class or even middle class Americans have to compete with the affluent elites, they are not competing on a level playing field. So the first big question we need to address is this: is there a level playing field for the poor and rich? Most Americans believe that they have an equal opportunity to become billionaires.

This is also why there is no social resentment of billionaires in America.

Many Americans believe that their economic and political systems create a level playing field in which the poor and disadvantaged can rise to the top. The term “level playing field” is absolutely critical here. Equally critically, in terms of the economy, society, and political system there is a level playing field where the working classes, middle classes, and affluent elites compete. What is the actual difference between a democracy and a plutocracy? In a democracy, the masses broadly determine their future. Let’s begin to answer this question from the very beginning. Indeed, this question may well be the most existential question America has to address. You may follow him on Twitter the United States of America still a functioning democracy or has it become, for all practical purposes, a plutocracy? And why is this question important? It’s important because the answer to the question of whether America has a dark or shining future will depend on whether it’s a democracy or plutocracy. This essay contains excerpts from his latest book Has China Won? (2020). Kishore Mahbubani is a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore. Democracy or Plutocracy? - America’s Existential Question

Us plutocracy oligarchy