Voices
champions have little sympathy
for this bruised amour-propre.
The prevailing sentiment is
closer to the mood the last time
income inequality soared and
the masses fought back. The plutocrats didn’t like it then much,
either. To which FDR, born to
wealth but leading the charge
to create a more inclusive capitalism, replied: “We know now
that Government by organized
money is just as dangerous as
Government by organized mob.
Never before in all our history
have these forces been so united
against one candidate as they
stand today. They are unanimous
in their hate for me — and I welcome their hatred.”
It may be that today, as in the
1920s and 1930s, a bitter political
fight between the economic winners and losers is inevitable. But
it would be better for everyone if
the plutocrats join in the effort to
create capitalism that works for
all us, rather than resisting it.
For one thing, in today’s competitive global economy, the
countries and communities that
succeed will be the ones that
keep their homegrown plutocrats, and attract more of the
right kind from elsewhere. The
CHRYSTIA
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