Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracy
Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracy
Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracy
Description
Description
An urgent and shocking examination of how the ultra-rich dominate democracies, hoard political power, and maintain inequality--and how we might chart another path. The wealthy and powerful few have dominated the many throughout most of human history. This is now more starkly visible than ever--a time when, with politicians bought and paid for across the political spectrum, the gulf between oligarchs and average citizens is larger than any gap that existed during European feudalism or the slave society of Imperial Rome. One thing is clear: the world is heading into an even deeper state of inequality, one that oligarchs of past eras could only have dreamed of. The strange thing is, for the first time in history, this domination is accomplished through democracy. Yet we aren't in open revolt against the system. In fact, we seemingly keep voting to prop it up. Why? In The Blind Spot, political scientist Jeffrey Winters delivers a timely, incisive account of how we reached this era of in-your-face oligarchy. Tracing the evolution of wealth power through the modern democratic era, he demonstrates how domination by oligarchs isn't just a flaw in our democracy, but a foundational feature--allowing the wealthy to limit the agenda, control the marketplace of ideas, and rewire the law to defend, hide, and increase their money and power. Now, in an extraordinary paradox, we exist in a state of "participatory inequality," a world in which the 99.99 percent of us participate openly, freely, and democratically in our own ongoing exclusion and exploitation. But The Blind Spot ultimately sounds a clarion call for change, arming us not only with a vital lens through which we can understand just how bad our political reality has become, but also with bold ideas for how we might shift the balance of power. While powerful oligarchs do not cede power willingly, this period of shocking inequality is nevertheless an opportunity for change.
About the Author
About the Author
Jeffrey Winters is a professor of political science at Northwestern University and the Director of the Equality Development and Globalization Studies Program at Northwestern's Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. Renowned for his groundbreaking work on oligarchs and elites, Winters wrote the influential book Oligarchy, which reintroduced the term to modern audiences and won the 2012 Luebbert Prize for the best book in comparative politics. His insights have been featured in major media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NPR.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"A provocative, accessible look at inequalities that extend across the political and economic spectrum." --Kirkus Reviews
"This book grips like a political thriller, warns like an alarm, and astonishes on every page. It's not only one of the most important books I've read in a long time, it's also a real page-turner. After reading The Blind Spot, you'll never see democracy the same way again." --Jonathan Eig, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for King: A Life "No one knows more about the rise of oligarchy in America than Jeffrey Winters. Anyone concerned about the domination of democracy by the ultra-rich should read this damning book." --Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side "Americans have endured extreme inequality for so long that millions of us regard our economic struggles as a natural condition, like the sun rising in the East. In The Blind Spot Jeffrey Winters shows how the super wealthy foster the appearance of a democracy, even as they have made America into an oligarchy of, by, and for the super rich who exercise their political power to harvest a growing share of the economic fruits. The Blind Spot is rigorously reported, with powerful facts and insights, all told with an engaging human touch about how we can create widespread prosperity by becoming a just and equitable society." --David Cay Johnston, author of It's Even Worse than You Think "And now, when the oligarchs wield power that would make the old gods blush, Winters' book arrives, a work of fearful urgency." --Yanis Varoufakis, author of Talking to My Daughter About the Economy "This book is a game-changer: it makes political and economic inequality intelligible in a new way, one that is both enlightening and frightening. Based on Winters' decades of expertise, The Blind Spot brings crystalline clarity and precision to a complex global phenomenon that often eludes full description. There's no stem-winding or dragging things out in this text: from the first sentence, Winters offers incisive insights about democracy's capture by oligarchs. It is difficult to think of any other work of social science whose prose is so lean, concise and accessible to non-specialists, without sacrificing accuracy and credibility. Nearly every page offers a mic-drop revelation, and something of value both to scholars and to casual readers. This book changed the way I think about democracy and oligarchy, despite my having specialized in adjacent research for nearly two decades. I'll not only be putting it on my course syllabi, I'm tempted to hand out copies at polling places. If ever a book appeared at the right time and place, this is it." --Brooke Harrington, author of Offshore "Jeffrey Winters' The Blind Spot is a masterpiece, exposing how big money has come to dominate the discourse of democracies, what can be discussed and what is - for now - not even debatable." --Danny Dorling, author of The Next Crisis
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Scribner Book Company
Pub date:
2026-05-26
Length:
384 pages
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