Mark Ruffalo, the acclaimed actor and filmmaker, has joined a group of prominent figures in signing a letter that addresses the detrimental effects of extreme wealth on politics and society. The letter is signed by a wide range of musicians, artists, and culture-makers including musician Brian Eno and philanthropist Abigail Disney. It highlights the role that extreme wealth plays in driving social exclusion and deepening the climate emergency.
This well-connected group goes on to detail their profound alarm at the way concentrated wealth is subverting democracy. They contend that a cabal of multinational oligarchs has hijacked democracies from the bottom up. These elite people are the ones who corrupt governments, stifle media independence, and accelerate environmental destruction. The signatories of the letter go on to explain how these wealth disparities are driving deepening poverty and social exclusion.
Ruffalo’s advocacy couldn’t come at a more critical time, as recently released statistics show the dangers of our new wealthy elite. Former President Donald Trump’s cabinet was the wealthiest on record as of last August. Their combined estimated value soared to an incredible $7.5 billion. A new survey of 3,900 people in nine G20 nations uncovers some surprising findings. Nearly three-fifths of respondents think that the Trump administration has harmed the prospects for global economic and financial stability. Additionally, three-quarters (77%) of millionaires surveyed concurred that ultra-rich people purchase political clout.
Over 400 other like-minded millionaires and billionaires from 24 countries have signed on to this demand. Their argument is an answer to the growing recognition of our nation’s economic split. The wealth of the richest 1% is now three times greater than all the public wealth of the world put together. As a result, the survey showed that two-thirds of respondents would support new taxes on the ultra-rich to help pay for public services. Just 17% were opposed to such measures.
The letter’s authors maintain the present path is untenable, and have called for urgent course corrections to be made. They argue that a tiny cabal of super-rich transnational oligarchs have taken over our democracies. In the process, these oligarchs have captured our democracies, imprisoned our press, stifled technology and entrepreneurship, deepened poverty and fragility, and accelerated disaster for our planet.
Their genius lies in the fact that they reveal how much we all, rich and poor, love a good story. Yet these values are under assault by those exclusively interested in increasing their power and clout.