An Analysis Of Plutocrats By Chrystia Freeland
Katelyn Anderson October 31, 2014
Plutocrats Analysis Essay In the world, there has always been a gap between rich and poor; however, in her book Plutocrats, Chrystia Freeland demonstrates that within the past few decades, the gap has grown significantly wider. The rich are becoming wealthier at such rapid speed that the middle class is being squeezed out. While the top ten percent of Americans on the income distribution receive more than half of the nation's income, Freeland demonstrates that it is actually the wealthiest 0.1 percent of citizens who are outpacing the rest of society the fastest, consequently refining what it means to be rich in the 21st century. These self-made oligarchs belong to a transglobal community and admit to having more in common with one another than they do with the rest of society. So what is driving this profound shift in income inequality, and how can we fix it? Freeland attempts to answer these questions by focusing on the culture, ideology, and biographies of the 0.1 percent while considering the significant changes in history that have allowed for their remarkable gain. Succinctly, our Second Gilded Age is the foundation of many of the greatest advancements in globalization, deregulation, and technology, and the new leaders of industry are predominantly “alpha geeks” working in the arenas of finance, management and technology. As a result, a secondary economy of “superstars” has developed to service these elite. Though, for the most part, at least in the United States, the middle class has been working much harder just to make ends meet. As a former business journalist, Freeland spent decades shadowing the plutocrats around the world: attending the same conferences, conducting interviews and observing their behaviors. Her findings are demonstrated throughout the book with exceptional research, strong statistics and interesting tidbits of information, making Plutocrats an enjoyable and captivating read. To answer the
Plutocrats Analysis Essay In the world, there has always been a gap between rich and poor; however, in her book Plutocrats, Chrystia Freeland demonstrates that within the past few decades, the gap has grown significantly wider. The rich are becoming wealthier at such rapid speed that the middle class is being squeezed out. While the top ten percent of Americans on the income distribution receive more than half of the nation's income, Freeland demonstrates that it is actually the wealthiest 0.1 percent of citizens who are outpacing the rest of society the fastest, consequently refining what it means to be rich in the 21st century. These self-made oligarchs belong to a transglobal community and admit to having more in common with one another than they do with the rest of society. So what is driving this profound shift in income inequality, and how can we fix it? Freeland attempts to answer these questions by focusing on the culture, ideology, and biographies of the 0.1 percent while considering the significant changes in history that have allowed for their remarkable gain. Succinctly, our Second Gilded Age is the foundation of many of the greatest advancements in globalization, deregulation, and technology, and the new leaders of industry are predominantly “alpha geeks” working in the arenas of finance, management and technology. As a result, a secondary economy of “superstars” has developed to service these elite. Though, for the most part, at least in the United States, the middle class has been working much harder just to make ends meet. As a former business journalist, Freeland spent decades shadowing the plutocrats around the world: attending the same conferences, conducting interviews and observing their behaviors. Her findings are demonstrated throughout the book with exceptional research, strong statistics and interesting tidbits of information, making Plutocrats an enjoyable and captivating read. To answer the