Plutonomy and the one percent
Author(s)
Murray, G
Peetz, D
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2013
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A plutonomy is an economy 'powered by the wealthy' and characterised by growing disparities between the top 1 % of society and the rest. Much of the recent increase in inequality in English-speaking Western societies has been due to very strong growth in incomes at the top. We consider the resurgence of the '1 %'-that elite group at the top 1 % of the income or wealth tree, featuring CEOs, key senior executives and top financier-speculators, often engaged in a project of capitalist globalization. We examine data, both internationally and from Australia, on their changing fortunes, as indicated by growing income and wealth ...
View more >A plutonomy is an economy 'powered by the wealthy' and characterised by growing disparities between the top 1 % of society and the rest. Much of the recent increase in inequality in English-speaking Western societies has been due to very strong growth in incomes at the top. We consider the resurgence of the '1 %'-that elite group at the top 1 % of the income or wealth tree, featuring CEOs, key senior executives and top financier-speculators, often engaged in a project of capitalist globalization. We examine data, both internationally and from Australia, on their changing fortunes, as indicated by growing income and wealth shares (particularly amongst the even smaller group of the top 0.1 %), growth in executive remuneration and the profit share, and increasing concentration of ownership amongst finance capital. Recent developments have been in stark contrast to the post-war settlement that saw these indicators of inequality stable or slowly decreasing as the working class made gradual gains. We consider the links between plutonomies and the practice and ideologies of financialisation and neoliberalism. We also refer to the implications of the emergence of plutonomy, including political responses and resistance.
View less >
View more >A plutonomy is an economy 'powered by the wealthy' and characterised by growing disparities between the top 1 % of society and the rest. Much of the recent increase in inequality in English-speaking Western societies has been due to very strong growth in incomes at the top. We consider the resurgence of the '1 %'-that elite group at the top 1 % of the income or wealth tree, featuring CEOs, key senior executives and top financier-speculators, often engaged in a project of capitalist globalization. We examine data, both internationally and from Australia, on their changing fortunes, as indicated by growing income and wealth shares (particularly amongst the even smaller group of the top 0.1 %), growth in executive remuneration and the profit share, and increasing concentration of ownership amongst finance capital. Recent developments have been in stark contrast to the post-war settlement that saw these indicators of inequality stable or slowly decreasing as the working class made gradual gains. We consider the links between plutonomies and the practice and ideologies of financialisation and neoliberalism. We also refer to the implications of the emergence of plutonomy, including political responses and resistance.
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Book Title
Challenging the Orthodoxy: Reflections on Frank Stilwell's Contribution to Political Economy
Publisher URI
Subject
Sociology not elsewhere classified