Description:

From ancient empires to modern nation-states, extreme concentrations of wealth have shaped political power—but never quite like this. Today, the influence of oligarchs is exercised not in opposition to democracy, but through it. Even as inequality reaches historic extremes, democratic systems continue to function, and public revolt remains muted. Why do societies repeatedly vote to sustain arrangements that entrench their own exclusion?

Join us for a Buffett Book Talk with Jeffrey A. Winters, Professor of Political Science, Director of the Roberta Buffett Institute’s Equality Development & Globalization Studies (EDGS) Program, and author of The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies. In conversation with Edward L. Gibson, Kenneth Burgess Professor of Political Science, Winters will trace the evolution of oligarchy in the democratic era, arguing that the outsized power of the ultra-wealthy is not a breakdown of democracy but a feature embedded in its design. They will examine Winters’ concept of participatory inequality—a paradoxical condition in which nearly everyone participates freely in democratic processes, yet only a tiny fraction exercises meaningful economic and political power—and offer ideas for how societies might rebalance power and pursue more equitable futures.

Lunch will begin at 12:15 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science.

Please note that 720 University Place is not an ADA-accessible space. Increasing physical access to buildings and facilities is a goal of the University, but not all buildings and venues have been updated.