It's all about ideology, not oligarchy

The Democrats, casting about for an anti-Trump narrative, have found a word: “oligarchy”.

- Ross Douthat

It was part of Joe Biden’s farewell address; it’s central to Senator Bernie Sanders’ barn storming; it shows up in the advice given by ex-Obama hands. It aspires to fold together President Donald Trump’s self-enrichment, Elon Musk’s outsize influence, the image of Silicon Valley big shots at the inauguration with a familiar Democratic criticism of the GOP as the party of the superrich.

I don’t want to pass premature judgment on its rhetorical effectiveness. But as a narrative for actually understanding the second Trump administration, the language of “oligarchy” obscures more than it reveals. It suggests a vision of Trumpism in which billionaires and big corporations are calling the shots. And certainly, the promise of some familiar Republican agenda items — like deregulation and business tax cuts — fits that script.

But where Mr Trump’s most disruptive and controversial policies are concerned, much of what one might call the American oligarchy is indifferent, sceptical or fiercely opposed.