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Podcast: New Books in American Politics
Episode: Carl Rhodes, "Stinking Rich: The Four Myths of the Good Billionaire" (Policy Press, 2025)
Description: Billionaires are an ultra-elite social class whose numbers are growing alongside their obscene wealth while others struggle, suffer or even die.
They represent a scourge of economic inequality, but how do they get away with it? A set of dangerous and deceptive inter-connected myths portrays them as a ‘force for good’:
-the ‘heroic billionaire’ asserts they are gallant protagonists of the American Dream gone global
-the ‘generous billionaire’ pretends that their philanthropic efforts and personal good deeds should be lauded for generosity and benevolence
-the ‘meritorious billionaire’ insists that extreme wealth is a worthy reward for individual hard...