Plutocracy And Plutonomy

“Plutonomy (from Greek ploutos, meaning ‘wealth,’ and nomes meaning ‘law,’ a portmanteau of ‘plutocracy’ and ‘economy’) is a term that Citigroup analysts have used for economies “where economic growth is powered by and largely consumed by the wealthy few.” See here.

“A plutocracy (Greek ploutos, ‘wealth’ + kratos, ‘power’) is a society that is controlled by people of great wealth or income.” See here.

The modern West, and indeed much of the developed world, is both a plutonomy and a plutocracy.

Let’s start with the obvious example. Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States, has an estimated net worth of $4.5billion. His challenger in the election of 2016, Hillary Clinton, has a net worth of $45million, despite claiming she and her husband Bill were ‘dead broke’ when they left the White House in 2001. That election cost an estimated $2.4billion – to win a job that pays $400,000 a year.

In 2013, 271 of the 533 members of the US Congress were millionaires, with a median net worth of $1,029,505 compared to the median wealth in the USA of $56,355. In 2018, an ordinary member of Congress was paid $174,000 compared to the median US salary of $56,516 (without taking benefits or ‘expenses’ into account). Members of Congress are eighteen times richer than the average American and are paid more than three times as much.

Ah, I hear you say, America is different – individualistic, vulgar and money-obsessed. I beg to differ. 78% of British MPs are millionaires compared to 0.7% of the general population. An MP ‘earns’ £74,962 a year, nearly three times as much as the average wage of £27,600. Interestingly, the school fees at Eton (£37,062) attended by former PM David Cameron are more than the average wage in the UK. Is that just the wicked Tories? Nope. Ex-Deputy PM Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats attended Westminster School where fees are £28,200. Even for Labour MPs, the rate of attendance at private school is three times the rate in the general population; that fine ‘socialist’ Jeremy Corbyn has an estimated net worth of £3million.

Is this a function of the English-speaking world? Justin Trudeau, the achingly right-on prime minister of Canada, has a net worth of $10million, whilst Scott Morrison of Australia is worth double that at about $20million.

Outside the Anglophone world, Emmanuel Macron, the youthful TinTin lookalike who is allegedly President of France, is worth $31.5million. Angela Merkel, long-serving Chancellor of Germany, is worth $11.5million. Even Alexis Tsipras, the radical leader of Greece and scourge of the banks, is worth $58million.

Turning away from democratic countries, things are even more alarming. Vladimir Putin of Russia has an estimated fortune of $200billion and Xi Jinping of China a more modest one of $1.5billion, in a country that is still officially Communist. Both of these pale in comparison to the estimated $1trillion (!!) wealth of the Saudi royal family.

Please draw your own conclusions from these figures. I know how my inner Robespierre feels…