Humans were hunter-gatherers. Then we discovered farming and started settlements, along fertile river banks. We formed tribes. The most wise and respected person was appointed as the tribe chief. His (yes, his) job was to protect the tribe from harm.
As populations grew, villages and towns were formed. Societal structures became more complex. Kingdoms started to appear. A kingdom requires a king. The first king was Gilgamesh of Mesopatamia, by the way. The political, military and financial powers rested with kings. Power is like Jim Carey’s mask. It brings your innermost desires to life. If you were kind, you would be a good king. If you were not kind, you would do anything to accumulate more power. Given limited resources, if you have more, your subjects will have relatively less.
Fast forward to the British Empire of 18th century colonialism. The king (later queen) wanted to grow his undertaking, in his majesty’s case that meant more taxes. Almost the entire world soon comprised of British colonies. More and more taxes were collected from every colony regardless of living conditions. America, which was just another set of colonies, was the first to successful revolt and become ‘independent’ in 1776.
Democracy was invented. Instead of dynastic rule, people will rule themselves by electing a representative to best represent their interests. The intention was to transfer the political power back to the people. Government of, by and for the people.
While there were wealthy traders earlier also, America also found capitalism. If you own assets, you can use them to generate wealth. There would be no limit to how wealthy you can become. Kings no longer exist in this society and they are not supposed to be the wealthiest entity in the system.
However, too much of anything is bad. The same disparities which had caused the people around the world to reject the British crown, have again appeared in the new system, in a matter of two and a half centuries. The government of the people (President, Senate, House) supposedly comprises of elected representatives. However, what these elected representatives do is influenced by the wealthy. Together, billionaires and government represent the new king. Kings’s fatwa has now taken the form of a debated law, or sometimes more literally an executive order. The exploitation of people in terms of minimal wages is again unleashed, just the perpetrators have changed from kings to capitalists, while being lawful of the law they try to influence for their benefit.
The stock market is actually a good means to distribute wealth. Just like liberals and socialists fight for universal health insurance, there needs to be a fight for universal wealth insurance via ownership of stocks (only 50% Americans own stocks). In that sense companies like REI, PCC and 40,000 others across 14 industries present a good ownership model via cooperatives. As opposed to taxing the wealthy and then redistributing that wealth via social programs, let the redistribution occur at source.
Billionaires are indeed the new kings (like CXOs are the new chiefs). Only a very few are spiritual or kind and consider the world at large to be their family. Bill Gates being the shiniest example, in my opinion. Nothing wrong with billionaires if the middle class continues to grow. Let some people experience the materialistic Heaven on earth but not at the cost of many experiencing hell. If the middle class is shrinking as the media tells us constantly, then the system has failed itself, at least on economic disparity front, where it is regressing to the colonial period. The flickering startup revolutions like ‘Occupy Wall Street’ are a sign that people have had enough. The masqueraded economic suppression will find a way out. On the socialism-capitalism continuum, either extreme poses a danger to the US constitution.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”