Wealth inequality has worsened over the last several decades, with the US having some of the highest inequality among industrialized countries. The top 20% of US households by income hold 70% of the wealth — over $96 trillion — according to the Federal Reserve. Households in the bottom 20%, by comparison, hold just 3% of the wealth, or $4 trillion.
In her new book, “Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drives Today’s Crises,” Marjorie Kelly of the Democracy Collaborative explains how the bias toward wealth that is woven into the very fabric of American capitalism is damaging people, the economy, and the planet, and she explores what the foundations of a new economy could be. The book exposes the myths underlying wealth supremacy, the bias that institutionalizes infinite extraction of wealth by and for the wealthy, and how this bias is the hidden force behind economic injustice, the climate crisis, and so many other problems of our day.
In this book talk with author Marjorie Kelly, hosted at the Aspen Institute on September 12, we learn about the myths that perpetuate wealth inequality and how the democratization of ownership — public ownership of vital services, worker-owned businesses, and more — can help us build a non-extractive capitalism and economy based on the public interest.
For more information about this event — including video, audio, transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources — visit as.pn/wealthsupremacy