What the Science of Predators and Prey Tells Us About the Morbidly Rich and Working People

Thom Hartman

Summary (From ChatGPT)

This article shows how the wealthy were able to extract $50 trillion from the working class. It draws a parallel between nature and economics, explaining how the patterns of predator-prey interactions in ecosystems mirror the dynamics between the wealthy and working classes in modern economies. It uses the Lotka-Volterra equations, which describe the rise and fall of predator and prey populations, to illustrate how the balance of wealth and power has shifted over time.

In the early 20th century, particularly after the New Deal, the U.S. economy experienced the “Great Compression,” where policies like labor protections, anti-monopoly laws, and progressive taxes led to a more equitable distribution of wealth. This allowed the middle class to prosper, with rising wages and improved living standards for working people.

However, starting in the 1980s, the “Great Predation” began. Wealthy individuals and corporations, empowered by deregulation and tax cuts under leaders like Ronald Reagan, exploited the working class and extracted vast amounts of wealth. This led to stagnating wages for workers, a growing wealth gap, and the concentration of power and resources among the rich.

The article argues that this imbalance is unsustainable. Like predators overhunting their prey, extreme wealth concentration undermines the economy. As the middle class weakens, consumer demand drops, social unrest increases, and the entire system becomes unstable. The article calls for a return to the policies of the Great Compression—fair taxes, stronger worker protections, and limits on corporate power—to restore balance.

It also suggests modern ideas like universal basic income and profit-sharing, along with international examples of worker representation and public investment banks, as potential solutions to create a more sustainable and fair economy. The goal is to move from predation to partnership, ensuring that the prosperity of the wealthy is tied to the health of the broader economy and political system.

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