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Stinking Rich: The Four Myths of the Good Billionaire
From Occupy Wall Street to ‘tax-the-rich’ activism, there has been growing resistance to the unearned wealth and power commanded by the billionaire class – an ultra-elite social class who have sequestered the world’s wealth while others languish in poverty and hunger. How do they get away with it? Coupled with their immense financial resources, a set of inter-connected myths portray billionaires as a ‘force for good’: • Heroic billionaires • Generous billionaires • Meritorious billionaires • Vigilante billionaires These archetypes are allowing billionaire wealth and power to set us back to old-style feudalism and plutocracy. Offering a trenchant critique of the new breed of billionaires, this incisive book testifies to the growing political will worldwide to take concrete actions to support economic justice and democratic equality.
220 pages, Hardcover
Published January 21, 2025
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About the author
Carl Rhodes
34 books5 followersCarl Rhodes is Professor of Organization Studies and Dean at UTS Business School in Sydney, Australia. His research critically investigates ethico-political dimensions of organizations and business, with a special focus on justice, equality, resistance, dissent and democracy.
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January 22, 2025
Elon Musk's recent ascent unelected to the apex of global political power - matching his status on the global wealth table - is the most disturbing signal yet that liberal democracy is giving way to plutocracy.
In this timely new book, Sydney academic Professor Carl Rhodes warns of the consequences of a system in which the moralisation of the ultra-rich obscures vast and widening economic injustice, not just in the US economy but around the world.
Rhodes examines how modern fables of the ultra-rich as heroic, generous, meritorious, and vigilantes of justice are steering liberal democracies back to former systems of feudalism and plutocracy.
By falling for the myths about the ultra-rich, we risk sacrificing our own agency and making being poor and destitute an issue of individual responsibility. Worse, we risk surrendering the powerful idea of collective action to solve our problems and leaving our fates instead to the magnanimity of a small caste of people who effectively won the lottery in a failed 40-year economic experiment.
In this book, Professor Rhodes has delivered a a penetrating and powerful analysis and one that couldn't be better timed.
(NOTE: I received an advance copy of ‘Stinking Rich’ for the purposes of review. See my full assessment of the book here: https://www.jparkermedia.com.au/post/...)
In this timely new book, Sydney academic Professor Carl Rhodes warns of the consequences of a system in which the moralisation of the ultra-rich obscures vast and widening economic injustice, not just in the US economy but around the world.
Rhodes examines how modern fables of the ultra-rich as heroic, generous, meritorious, and vigilantes of justice are steering liberal democracies back to former systems of feudalism and plutocracy.
By falling for the myths about the ultra-rich, we risk sacrificing our own agency and making being poor and destitute an issue of individual responsibility. Worse, we risk surrendering the powerful idea of collective action to solve our problems and leaving our fates instead to the magnanimity of a small caste of people who effectively won the lottery in a failed 40-year economic experiment.
In this book, Professor Rhodes has delivered a a penetrating and powerful analysis and one that couldn't be better timed.
(NOTE: I received an advance copy of ‘Stinking Rich’ for the purposes of review. See my full assessment of the book here: https://www.jparkermedia.com.au/post/...)
Displaying 1 of 1 review