Revolt of the Rich
How the Politics of the 1970s Widened America's Class Divide
Book •
David N. Gibbs examines how policy choices and political strategies in the 1970s—including oil-price decisions, the rise of petrodollars, financialization, and deregulation—shifted economic power upward.
He traces how elites organized, funded ideas, and formed coalitions that promoted austerity and deregulation, resulting in deindustrialization and weakened unions.
The book connects those shifts to the widening class divide and long-term stagnation of wages and growth.
Gibbs uses archival research and private papers to show the organized strategy of wealthy actors and the resulting political realignment.
He argues that these historical decisions have enduring consequences for inequality and democratic stability.
He traces how elites organized, funded ideas, and formed coalitions that promoted austerity and deregulation, resulting in deindustrialization and weakened unions.
The book connects those shifts to the widening class divide and long-term stagnation of wages and growth.
Gibbs uses archival research and private papers to show the organized strategy of wealthy actors and the resulting political realignment.
He argues that these historical decisions have enduring consequences for inequality and democratic stability.
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