Labor share of income in the developed countries is at the lowest it's been in decades (1). In the US, if all workers received a 13% pay hike, this would just bring the labor share to where it was in 1990. Profit margins are at record highs (2). It took me two minutes of googling, yet somehow people writing for one of the most prestigious econ-related magazine in the world are incapable or unwilling (more likely) to mention it.
In addition, this figure also includes the "labor share" of top-level management. People focus too much on CEO pay, and neglect the fact it's also C-suites, vice-presidents, board members, and most of the direct and indirect perks they receive. I wouldn't be surprised if the labor share of income to this new nobility increased from low single-digit to double-digit percentage
And worse, the marriage of capital and politics is wrecking havoc. People are represented less and less vs special interest who never had it this good. Making a u-turn becomes harder and harder as time goes by.
To be fair here, capital and politics have always been married and wrecked havoc, for the last few thousand years, which is why the history of humanity is full with slavery, serfdom and bloody wars. There's no way around that, power and money corrupts and concentrates in the hands of a few who fight tooth and nail to further entrench their power and wealth at the expense of everyone else.
Our major break came from having two devastating world wars that affected the ruling class as well, and broke the traditional wealthy feudal powers, right before an industrial boom that gave the working class a leg up never before seen in our society, to which everyone looks back fondly as that situation will never happen again (at leat not until the next violent global war/revolution).
But now, during a prolonged period of relative peace and stability, our situation is reverting back to the feudalism of lords and serfs, haves and have-nots, exactly how our civilization has always been like.
The difference is that now, instead of being the serf of a lord for food and shelter, you're the serf of a giant megacorp for employment(food) and to a giant real-estate conglomerate or a giant bank for shelter, and with a much longer life expectancy and higher standard of living.
So yes, there is always going to be a fight for power in society, and people are going to find ways to buy power with money to the extent they are allowed. However there are ways to structure governance to limit the extent to which wealth can buy influence. For instance, I grew up in the states, and currently live in Germany, and while no government is immune to the influence of capital, having a multi-party system certainly does seem to lead to outcomes where the best interest of the people have a much better chance of winning out than you see in the states.
I also disagree with your reading of history that we're regressing to the natural feudal state of humanity, which was disrupted only by the world wars. I would argue what we have seen is more like a pendular oscillation between consolidated and distributed power structures, at least over the past several hundred years.
For instance, in France and Russia, ages of elite opulence, and disregard for the well-being of the general population gave way to violent revolutions which resulted in the redistribution of power, at least nominally, toward the population. Similarly, the gilded age in the US represented a massive consolidation of wealth in a few hands, and it eventually gave way to a labor movement which put more wealth in the hands of workers.
Since the late 70's at least, the neoliberal movement has been on the march to separate labor from their power and return it to the hands of the elite. We'll see if society manages to find some kind of equilibrium, but if history is any indication it seems more likely that some breaking point will be reached, and existing power structures will be torn down in favor of new ones.
I can’t remember where I read it but apparently historically too much inequality always resulted in revolutions and/or complete restructurings of society. In other words, too much greed leads to uprisings.
Most of history across the world has seen conflict between the wealthy merchant/scribe/craftsman class which would become the capitalists, and a landowner/priest/warrior aristocracy which typically held power. While it's not the first time it's ever happened, the modern industrial world is by far the longest lived and most extensive alignment of capital and power.
In addition, this figure also includes the "labor share" of top-level management. People focus too much on CEO pay, and neglect the fact it's also C-suites, vice-presidents, board members, and most of the direct and indirect perks they receive. I wouldn't be surprised if the labor share of income to this new nobility increased from low single-digit to double-digit percentage
(1) - https://www.oecd.org/g20/topics/employment-and-social-policy...
(2) - https://www.axios.com/profit-margins-record-high-rising-infl...
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