This piece rightly diagnoses the rise of oligarchy, but its conclusion—that restoring democracy requires structural economic reforms like progressive taxation, union revitalization, and regulation—misidentifies the causal chain. These reforms are worthy, but they’re not possible until we confront the deeper problem: the capture of the democratic process by wealth through the persuasion industry, shielded by First Amendment jurisprudence.
The root issue isn’t just that billionaires have too much money; it’s that they can legally use that money to dominate campaigns, fund think tanks, capture media narratives, and shape public opinion in ways that entrench their power. Since Citizens United, courts have enshrined money as speech, granting legal entities First Amendment protections that make meaningful reform practically impossible.
You cannot tax the rich, rebuild labor, or regulate markets if the agenda-setting mechanisms—from Super PACs to foundation-funded policy shops—remain under billionaire control. In other words, we can’t restore democracy without first breaking the link between money and speech. And that would require confronting the legal doctrine at the heart of the modern American oligarchy—something this essay never dares to touch.
This piece rightly diagnoses the rise of oligarchy, but its conclusion—that restoring democracy requires structural economic reforms like progressive taxation, union revitalization, and regulation—misidentifies the causal chain. These reforms are worthy, but they’re not possible until we confront the deeper problem: the capture of the democratic process by wealth through the persuasion industry, shielded by First Amendment jurisprudence.
The root issue isn’t just that billionaires have too much money; it’s that they can legally use that money to dominate campaigns, fund think tanks, capture media narratives, and shape public opinion in ways that entrench their power. Since Citizens United, courts have enshrined money as speech, granting legal entities First Amendment protections that make meaningful reform practically impossible.
You cannot tax the rich, rebuild labor, or regulate markets if the agenda-setting mechanisms—from Super PACs to foundation-funded policy shops—remain under billionaire control. In other words, we can’t restore democracy without first breaking the link between money and speech. And that would require confronting the legal doctrine at the heart of the modern American oligarchy—something this essay never dares to touch.