They Rule: The 1% vs. Democracy

ISBN-13: 9781612053271 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 252 str.

Paul Street

Opis

This book reflects on key questions raised by recent movements and statements about the status of American politics and polity-from the Tea Party to Occupy, from the 1% to the 47% to the 99% that is the rest of us. These questions have also been raised by previous generations of labor, farmer, socialist, anarchist, and populist protestors and critics: Who owns and rules America beyond the pretense of democratic popular governance? Why does it matter that the nation's economy, society, culture, and politics are torn by stark class disparities and a concentration of wealth in the hands of a privileged few? What is the price of that savage inequality? And what can "we the people" do about it in defense of democracy, a livable natural environment, and the common good of all? Along the way, this book sharpens readers' sense of who the US oligarchy are; how their fortunes have changed over the course of American history; how they live and think; and how to detect and de-cloak them. Paul Street is a master at revealing what lies beneath the surfaces of American politics and society and bringing his readers to the forefront of action.

Spis treści

Introduction John Carpenter's Magic Sunglasses and the Real Choice Chapter 1 "They Own the Place" Scenes from America's Unelected Dictatorship, 2009-2013 Chapter 2 Richistan and the Rest of Us The Second Gilded Age and Why It Matters Chapter 3 Political Economy How They Got So Rich Chapter 4 Dismantling Domestic Development The Global Age of Finance Chapter 5 How They Rule The Many Modes of Moneyed Class Power Chapter 6 No Crystal Ball On What Might and Must Be Done

O autorze

Paul Street