The uncomfortable truth about oligarchy

The Lie Everyone Swallows: “We’re a Democracy”

You’ve heard it a thousand times: America is the beacon of democracy, the land where every voice counts. That comforting myth is a story sold by a handful of people who profit when the public believes they have power. The reality, laid bare by scholars and data, is far uglier. A 2017 BBC analysis of the “Oligarchy Study” concluded that American democracy is a sham, run by a narrow elite that shapes the news, the courts, and the very rules of the game.

If you think the elections are free because you can vote, ask yourself: Who decides which candidates get on the ballot? Who funds their campaigns? Who writes the laws they’re supposed to enforce? The answers point to a handful of families and corporations that own a disproportionate slice of the nation’s wealth and, consequently, its political future.

Follow the Money: How Wealth Controls Policy

Money is the grease that makes the oligarchic machine run smoothly.

• Wealth concentration – In 2022 the Federal Reserve reported that the top 1 % of households owned 32 % of all wealth, while the bottom 50 % owned just 2 % (Federal Reserve, Distribution of Household Wealth, 2022).
• Campaign financing – OpenSecrets recorded $14 billion spent on the 2020 federal election cycle, with the top 100 donors contributing $1.2 billion, enough to outspend every small‑donor campaign combined.
• Lobbying pressure – The Center for Responsive Politics logged $3.5 billion in lobbying expenditures in 2021 alone, with the energy, finance, and pharmaceutical sectors accounting for nearly 45 % of that total.

When a single billionaire can out‑spend an entire state’s worth of grassroots organizing, the notion of “one person, one vote” collapses. The elite don’t just influence policy; they write it.

What this looks like on the ground

• Regulatory capture – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has repeatedly been shown to prioritize airline profit over safety, a classic case where industry insiders dictate standards that affect the public.
• Tax code manipulation – The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act shaved the corporate tax rate from 35 % to 21 %, a change that benefitted the top 0.1 % of earners with an estimated $1.9 trillion boost in after‑tax income (Congressional Budget Office, 2020).
• Judicial appointments – In the past decade, 30 % of federal judges appointed were directly funded by the donors who also financed their nominators’ campaigns, eroding the idea of an independent judiciary.

The Oligarchy Playbook: Media, Law, and the Courts

The oligarchic grip extends far beyond campaign finance. It infiltrates the institutions that should keep power in check.

• Media ownership – Six corporations control 90 % of the U.S. news market (Media Consolidation Report, 2021). When the same conglomerates own both the news outlets and the advertisers who fund them, the line between reporting and propaganda blurs.
• Legal frameworks – The Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision turned corporate money into a protected form of speech, effectively giving the richest entities a louder voice than the average citizen.
• Policy think‑tanks – Organizations like the American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation receive multi‑million‑dollar donations from the same donors who lobby for deregulation, creating a feedback loop that translates ideology into law.

Harvard Kennedy School professors Archon Fung and Lawrence Lessig warned in a 2022 policy brief that Trump’s “brazen embrace of billionaire ruling partners” could be an inflection point accelerating America’s slide toward rule by the wealthiest. The evidence is not speculative; it is a documented pattern of wealth‑driven decision‑making that has deepened under every administration since the 1980s.

Falsehoods Fed to the Masses: Debunking the “U.S. Is Still a True Republic”

Misinformation is the glue that holds the oligarchy together. It tells us that the system is fair, that the rich are merely “successful,” and that any criticism is “unpatriotic.” Let’s call out the most persistent lies.

Each of these falsehoods survives because the oligarchs control the channels through which truth could otherwise surface. The more we repeat them, the more they become accepted “facts,” and the harder it becomes to see the levers of power.

Why This Should Make You Angry (and What to Do)

Anger is a catalyst. It forces complacent citizens to act. Here are concrete steps you can take right now—no vague “stay informed” platitudes, just actions that hit the oligarchy where it hurts.

• Divest from political donors – Use tools like OpenSecrets to identify lawmakers who receive > $100,000 from the top 0.1 % of donors. Withdraw your support (financial, volunteer, or electoral) from those candidates.
• Support campaign‑finance reform – Back legislation such as the For the People Act (H.R. 1) and the Democracy Protection Act that aim to limit corporate contributions and increase transparency.
• Demand media plurality – Subscribe to independent outlets, donate to nonprofit newsrooms, and pressure regulators to enforce antitrust actions against media conglomerates.
• Hold the courts accountable – Join or fund organizations that track judicial appointments and lobby for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
• Grassroots lobbying – Organize local town‑hall meetings where you can present data on wealth concentration and lobby elected officials to enact progressive tax policies.

If you think a single blog post can topple an oligarchy, you’re naive. But if enough people channel their outrage into organized pressure, the very structures that keep power concentrated begin to crack. The uncomfortable truth is that democracy is not a gift; it’s a battle that must be won repeatedly.

Sources

• BBC: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy
• Harvard Kennedy School: Oligarchy in the open – what happens now as the U.S. is forced to confront its plutocracy problem?
• OpenSecrets: 2020 Election Spending
• Federal Reserve: Distribution of Household Wealth in the United States, 2022
• World Inequality Database: Wealth Inequality Data 2022
• Media Consolidation Report, 2021