Why excessive wealth is endangering democracy

From the end of the Middle Ages to the 20th centurythe rich have fulfilled a social role by contributing economically in times of crisis, but This contract has been broken in the 21st century, according to Italian Guido Alfani, professor of Economic History at the Bocconi University of Milan.

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For Alfani, Excessive wealth endangers democracy. According to Oxfam, the richest 1% own 43% of financial assets, and The ultra-rich have growing influence in politics while progressive taxation is in retreat.

“The growing trend of inequality will not be interrupted by itself and the absence of a role for the rich will be more problematic, there will be a real danger of social instability in the future“, predicts the author of ‘As Gods Among Men: A History of the Rich in the West’, a book in which he traces the history of the rich in the West from the Middle Ages to the present.

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The crisis of 2007, the breach of the contract

Alfani describes that “humanism identified its role in helping its community in times of crisis“, something that continued until the end of World War II.

“The problem is that this traditional role is no longer seen in the 21st century.“he adds.

The turning point was the 2007 crisis, with the aggravating factor that it was “the rich” who caused it and “have not paid” nor have they made “an exceptional contribution in a situation of extreme need”, something “completely unprecedented in history.”

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In recent years, a series of ultra-rich are being very visible for their interference in politics or their falsely philanthropic donations, according to Alfani, who remembers that Elon Musk has donated 75 million dollars to the electoral campaign of Donald Trump, another “super rich” tycoon.

It is not a phenomenon exclusive to the United States. Europe was a pioneer with the Italian Silvio Berlusconi in the 90s and in more recent times Rishi Sunak became prime minister of the United Kingdom and Emmanuel Macron in France who, although not “super rich”, has been criticized for his close connection with Bernard Arnault, the richest person in the world according to the Forbes 2024 List.

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According to Alfani, It is a general problem that is difficult to address in a globalized economy and with complex fiscal mechanisms that facilitate tax evasion. at the same time that these magnates wash their image through voluntary donations: “the social contract is very different, it is not the contract of a democracy, it is something else.”

EFE