Social Darwinists to tech bros: tracing the long fight against equality in US
Why This Matters
Key context: <p>Historian Kim Phillips-Fein’s book Country of Lords looks back at the many men who have tried to fight against egalitarianism, from John Adams to Peter Thiel</p><p>The historian Kim Phillips-Fein’s new book is published amid celebrations of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/series/america-at-250">250th anniversary</a> of the declaration of independence and its truth “self-evident, that all men are created equal”. Country of Lords, however, is a history of Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight <em>Against</em> Equality in America.</p><p>Concise and hard-hitting, the book arrives at a time of glaring social and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/26/billionaires-wealth-soars-as-workers-struggle">economic</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/21/us-inequality-plutocracy">inequality</a>, Phillips-Fein seeing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/17/is-it-bad-that-elon-musk-has-a-trillion-dollars-yes-and-heres-why">emerging as a trillionaire</a> very much on people’s minds, with a deep level of discomfort, both fear and anger about what this portends”.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jul/21/kim-phillips-fein-country-of-lords">Continue reading...</a> This development from The Guardian highlights ongoing changes in the sector.
Historian Kim Phillips-Fein’s book Country of Lords looks back at the many men who have tried to fight against egalitarianism, from John Adams to Peter ThielThe historian Kim Phillips-Fein’s new book is published amid celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the declaration of independence and its truth “self-evident, that all men are created equal”. Country of Lords, however, is a history of Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight Against Equality in America.Concise and hard-hitting, the book arrives at a time of glaring social and economic inequality, Phillips-Fein seeing Elon Musk “emerging as a trillionaire very much on people’s minds, with a deep level of discomfort, both fear and anger about what this portends”. Continue reading...
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