The article explores the parallels between the current Gilded Age, defined by immense wealth accumulation akin to the late 19th century. It highlights how figures like Bezos and Musk resemble the tycoons of the past, while the anarchists of yore, characterized by dramatic actions, find echoes in today's societal dissent. Notably, the piece reflects on how contemporary acts can evoke historical narratives of revolution and martyrdom, raising questions about the evolving dynamics of wealth and resistance in America.
"The term, borrowed from the 1873 Mark Twain novel, indicated an efflorescence of wealth and display, the Veblenian side of American life, status competition through showy objects."
"Our new Gilded Age would become even more like its precursor—not only in the seeming concentration of overwhelming wealth into fewer hands but in the gravitation toward a plutocracy."
"During the first Gilded Age, a counter cast of characters had a glamorous appeal of their own: the anarchists whose acts were intended as inspirational melodramatic theatre."
"Luigi Mangione's alleged murder of an insurance executive evokes the past, conferring in the realm of social media an improbable aura of martyrdom."
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