Social Darwinists to tech bros: tracing the long fight against equality in US
Historian Kim Phillips-Fein offers a sharp look at the tension between American democratic ideals and the rise of extreme economic hierarchy. Her new book, Country of Lords, traces the history of figures who have opposed equality from the founding era to the present day.
Phillips-Fein examines how various thinkers and business leaders have pushed against egalitarian claims. She connects early skepticism from figures like John Adams to the Gilded Age philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie, who sought to manage the social instability caused by his own massive wealth. The book follows this thread through 20th-century figures like William Shockley, who moved from engineering breakthroughs to pseudoscientific beliefs about intelligence and race.
The narrative arrives at the current era of tech-driven monopolies. By analyzing the philosophies held by figures like Peter Thiel, Phillips-Fein explains why many modern titans of industry view competition and elite institutions with deep hostility. These individuals often frame their dominance as the result of unique genius rather than structural advantages.
This history provides context for the current public discomfort regarding extreme wealth concentration. Phillips-Fein asks whether a democracy can survive when economic power rests in the hands of a few, and what happens when the logic of the marketplace is treated as the primary way to organize society. Her research serves as a record of the persistent fight to maintain concentrated power in an nation built on the promise of equality.