{"product_id":"the-blind-spot-how-oligarchs-dominate-our-democracies-hardcover","title":"The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies (Hardcover)","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eA gripping new account of oligarchy from ‘the most astute\nsocial scientist studying the phenomenon today’ (\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe wealthy and powerful few have dominated the masses throughout most of human\nhistory. This is starkly visible now more than ever – today, the gulf between\noligarchs and the average citizen is vastly larger than any gap that existed\nduring European serfdom or the slave society of Imperial Rome.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThe strange thing is: for the first time in history, this domination is\naccomplished through democracy. Yet we aren’t in open revolt against the\nsystem. In fact, we keep voting to prop it up. Why?\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nIn \u003ci\u003eThe Blind Spot\u003c\/i\u003e, political scientist Jeffrey A. Winters delivers\nan urgent, incisive account of how we reached this era of in-your-face\noligarchy, exposing how modern democracy was designed to protect the interests\nof the ultra-rich. Tracing the evolution of oligarchy through the democratic\nera, he demonstrates how the power of the wealthy isn’t just a flaw in our\ndemocracy, it was built into its very foundations. Now, in an extraordinary\nparadox, we exist in a state of ‘participatory inequality’: a world in which\n99.99% of us participate openly and freely – democratically, even – in our own\nongoing economic exclusion.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nBut powerful change can begin when we have a clear understanding of where we\nare and where we deserve to be. As well as shining a light on just how bad our\npolitical reality has become, \u003ci\u003eThe Blind Spot \u003c\/i\u003eintroduces bold\nideas for how we might shift the balance. Even though oligarchs may not cede\npower willingly, this period of shocking inequality is, Winters shows, an\nopportunity for genuine, enduring change.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eJeffrey Winters\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of political\nscience at Northwestern University and the Director of the Equality Development\nand Globalization Studies Program at Northwestern’s Buffett Institute for\nGlobal Affairs. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eOver the past three decades, Winters has gained an\ninternational reputation for his pathbreaking work on oligarchs and elites. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eHis influential 2011 book \u003ci\u003eOligarchy\u003c\/i\u003e reintroduced\nthe term to modern audiences and was awarded the prestigious 2012 Luebbert\nPrize.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TIMES DISTRIBUTION PTE LTD","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45108808417487,"sku":"9780241661826","price":57.23,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0574\/5662\/3823\/files\/download_dc6a4099-b192-423b-806d-3ad003ef5310.jpg?v=1779957328","url":"https:\/\/popular.com.sg\/products\/the-blind-spot-how-oligarchs-dominate-our-democracies-hardcover","provider":"Popular Book Company Pte Ltd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}