The New Feudalism
Instructions
In the video linked below, author Anand Giridharadas discusses his experiences, research, and assessment of the role of billionaires (and trillionaires) in our society — as well as what impact they’ve played in class inequality and redefining what it means to be a “charitable”, wealthy leader.
*NOTE: Giridharadas discusses many major political and cultural figures in his writing and interviews, but rest assured that he believes that all wealthy elites across the spectrum negatively impact our country in some capacity — from Bill Gates to Jeff Bezos, from Barack Obama to Donald Trump.
Helpful terms:
Philanthropy — “the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.”
Feudalism — “the dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (villeins or serfs) were obliged to live on their lord’s land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection.”
Respond to the following prompts after reading the article linked below:
1. “New Feudalism” is a term that Giridharadas uses frequently when discussing the relationship between the elite (or 1%) of America and the rest. The definition of feudalism once again is: “the dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (villeins or serfs) were obliged to live on their lord’s land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection.”
How would Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos tie into this perspective of “new” feudalism?
2. From this perspective, why does Giridharadas find all elite philanthropy at least a little bit bad (as in his example for when Michael Bloomberg donates 1.8 billion dollars to a hospital — or how newspapers and social media obsess over Zuckerburg donating 90% of his wealth)?
What image does he claim donation and philanthropy create for billionaires and business-people and their role in our society? How does donating their wealth actually make them more powerful?
3. Do you agree, disagree, or fall in the middle with Giridharadas’ perspective? Can a person be among the wealthiest 1% and still do good for themselves and those around them — or does having that much money and power mean you’ve taken something away from the majority of people (even if you do try to do good)?
*If you agree, what can and/or should be done about the amount of power the rich have over our society?
**If you disagree, how would you respond to Giridharadas’ claim that a class of wealthy, powerful elites making decisions for all Americans goes against what our “American Dream” is supposed to represent?
