In an era of unprecedented wealth concentration, the world’s oligarchs are facing a new reality: heightened visibility and growing vulnerability. Once dismissed as fringe rhetoric, critiques of oligarchy have gone mainstream, with warnings of a “tech-industrial complex” coming from the highest office in the land. As the uber-rich take on increasingly public roles, the scrutiny they face may prove to be a double-edged sword.
The Meaning of Oligarchy
While often used as a catchall for elites or the ultra-wealthy, the term “oligarch” has a more specific meaning. As defined by Aristotle, it refers to rule by the wealthy, in contrast to democracy, or rule by the poor. Modern scholars like Jeffrey Winters emphasize that oligarchs, despite their diverse political leanings, share a common interest in protecting their wealth.
This wealth defense takes different forms across political contexts, from hiring private security to courting despots who guarantee property rights. In democracies, oligarchs outsource wealth protection to the state while leveraging their influence to avoid burdensome taxation. The real class divide, Winters argues, is between the “mass affluent” and the rarified stratum who can afford the services of the wealth defense industry.
The Price of Invisibility
Historically, oligarchs have preferred to operate behind the scenes, using discreet wealth management services to minimize their exposure. Some even pay to avoid appearing on rich lists. At the same time, they recognize the importance of shaping public opinion, leading to a paradoxical dance of visibility and obscurity.
In recent years, more oligarchs have opted to purchase media outlets outright, exploiting struggling legacy institutions to amplify their message. Tech leaders have taken this a step further, acquiring social media platforms with global reach. While enabling previously impossible levels of direct communication, this strategy also invites unparalleled scrutiny.
Plundering the State
It remains uncommon for oligarchs to seek state power directly unless, like Silvio Berlusconi, they use politics as a shield against prosecution. The United States has seen a dramatic departure from this norm, with the wealthiest cabinet in history and undefined roles for tech billionaires promising “government efficiency.” This blurring of lines between private and public power creates novel forms of vulnerability.
- Conflicts of interest and scandal as oligarchs stand poised to profit from their political positions
- Unfulfilled promises as grand public pledges of tech-powered efficiency fall short
- Dwindling credibility as tech leaders push fringe theories and undermine public institutions
Checking Oligarchic Power
So what, if anything, can be done to rein in oligarchic influence? Legal restrictions on media ownership or popular referenda to exile individuals deemed too powerful offer intriguing historical precedents. More recently, threats of wealth taxes and popular trials for oligarchic misdeeds have entered mainstream discourse.
In the end, the best bet against oligarchy remains countervailing power: strong organizations, be it trade unions or civil society associations and, lest we forget, democratic politics.
– Jan-Werner Müller
The surge of oligarchs into the public eye, however fraught, provides an opening. As their wealth becomes impossible to ignore, the ultra-rich may become newly vulnerable to the court of public opinion and the force of collective action. Whether this visibility proves to be their Achilles’ heel will be one of the central power struggles of our time.
