AP PHOTO/FRANK FRANKLIN II
Voices
the vast majority of its people —
and, today, that means our own
— will be challenged.
The big question for 2014 will
be how the plutocrats respond.
Some are still in denial. Today’s
economy is going so well for
those at the very top that it can
be hard to see how badly it is
working for those in the middle
and at the bottom.
That blinkered vision is exacerbated, ironically, by the sense
of personal virtue and personal
CHRYSTIA
FREELAND
achievement felt by so many of
today’s super-rich. This is not
the fading aristocracy of Downton
Abbey, barely hanging on to the
spoils accumulated by its ancestors. Many of today’s plutocrats
made their own fortunes, and they
have the pride and the self-confidence that comes with that accomplishment. They believe they
have contributed to the common
good to boot, which is why the
complaints of the 99 percent feel
to them not just bewildering and
threatening, but also unjust.
It’s no surprise that the angry 99 percent and their public
HUFFINGTON
02.02.14
Former
President Bill
Clinton, left,
speaks as
Mayor Bill de
Blasio, center,
waits to take
the oath of
office on Jan.
1, 2014, in
New York.