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John Adams and the Fear of American Oligarchy

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Erschienen am 11.10.2016, 1. Auflage 2016
28,95 €
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Bibliografische Daten
ISBN/EAN: 9781400883691
Sprache: Englisch
Umfang: 232 S.
E-Book
Format: EPUB
DRM: Adobe DRM

Beschreibung

Long before "the one percent" became a protest slogan, American founding father John Adams feared the power of a class he called simply the fewthe wellborn, the beautiful, and especially the rich. In John Adams and the Fear of American Oligarchy, Luke Mayville presents the first extended exploration of Adams's preoccupation with a problem that has a renewed urgency today: the way in which inequality threatens to corrode democracy and empower a small elite. By revisiting Adamss political writings, Mayville draws out the statesmans fears about the danger of oligarchy in America and his unique understanding of the political power of wealtha surprising and largely forgotten theory that promises to illuminate todays debates about inequality and its political consequences.Adams believed that wealth is politically powerful in modern societies not merely because money buys influence, but also because citizens admire and even sympathize with the rich. He thought wealth is powerful in the same way that beauty is powerfulit distinguishes its possessor and prompts reactions of approval and veneration. Citizens vote forand withthe rich not because, as is often said, they hope to be rich one day, but because they esteem the rich and submit to their wishes. Mayville explores Adamss theory of wealth and power in the context of his broader concern about social and economic inequality, and also examines his ideas about how oligarchy might be countered.A compelling work of intellectual history, John Adams and the Fear of American Oligarchy also has important lessons for todays world of increasing inequality.

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