Jeffrey Winters Says Oligarchs Dominate U.S. Democracies Through Wealth Inequality And Dark Money

A new book by political scientist Jeffrey Winters, The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies, argues that democracy’s failure to address wealth inequality is by design.

“We speak with political scientist Jeffrey Winters about his new book, The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies”

Democracy Now!

In a discussion with Democracy Now!, Winters said, "Liberal democracies around the world are now among the most unequal societies ever to have existed in human history," and he contrasted that with the wealth gap in Imperial Rome being about 16,000 to one.

Democracy Now!

Winters also pointed to the United States, saying, "That has exploded to 140,000 to one" when comparing the average person in the Forbes 400 to the median person in the United States.

In Mother Jones, Winters’ argument is tied to how Supreme Court rulings in Citizens United v. FEC and other campaign finance cases unleashed a gusher of political spending by the richest Americans and their businesses, with each cycle setting new records.

The Mother Jones piece adds that so much spending was legally untraceable that a fresh term, "dark money," entered the lexicon.

Mother Jones frames the growth of oligarchic influence as connected to their success in neutering the government’s ability to tax them and hold those who cheat accountable, describing that dynamic as "oligarchic untouchability."

The article describes OffshoreAlert conferences run by investigative journalist David Marchant for the last quarter-century, where Jack Blum said the gatherings resemble "that famous bar in Star Wars where they all come together—the good guys, the bad guys, the seriously guilty."

Mother Jones

On stage and in the audience, Mother Jones says the conferences include IRS special agents, representatives from the Department of Justice, officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission, and CIA and FBI agents, alongside white-collar defense lawyers and accountants.

Mother Jones also quotes Marchant describing the risk he faced, saying, "I knew the investigative journalism side was risky," and that he got threatened by Russians more than once.

In the same Mother Jones account, Marchant says, "Fraud pisses me off," and adds, "The day that it stops pissing me off, I’ll do something else."

Mother Jones links the political system’s tilt toward oligarchs to specific election spending figures, saying the biggest spender during the 2024 cycle was Elon Musk at more than $291 million.

“When Mitt Romney ran for the Senate 18 years ago, he was fairing quite well against Ted Kennedy, right up until voters started hearing from some of Romney’svictims”

MS NOW

The same piece says former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon’s grandson Timothy spent about $197 million, and Adelson’s widow, Miriam, ranked third with more than $148 million.

Mother Jones then totals the scale of investment, stating, "All told, 100 individuals invested $2.4 billion in the 2024 election" and that this was "almost half the total cost of the presidential contest."

In the Democracy Now! interview, Winters connects the thesis to the idea that oligarchs maintain economic inequality by fighting against wealth redistribution, while voters have a say on some issues.

Winters’ framing is that oligarchs dominate democracies by combining wealth power with participation power, and he describes the puzzle as the United States becoming more democratic over its history while also becoming more unequal.