‘Capitalism has to become more humane’: a Stanford economist on big tech, power hoarding and...

Stanford economist Mordecai Kurz has argued that today's tech oligarchs are eroding democratic institutions by concentrating unprecedented monopoly power in their hands.

In his forthcoming book, Private Power and Democracy's Decline, scheduled for publication on 19 May, Kurz contends that capitalism has entered a perilous phase.

He maintains that the current era represents an extreme manifestation of a recurring historical pattern since industrialisation began.

According to Kurz, technological moguls have historically regarded themselves as superior beings destined to shape society.

During the first Gilded Age in the late nineteenth century, industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller distorted social Darwinism to justify their dominance.

They invented elaborate theories about human evolution, convinced that nature itself had selected them to wield influence over civilisation.

Kurz drew a striking parallel between those historical figures and contemporary tech power brokers.

He noted that Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has suggested his artificial intelligence technology possesses a quasi-mystical potential to become a transcendent force for good.

Nevertheless, Amodei has also openly acknowledged that such technology could precipitate mass unemployment, raising profound questions about its societal consequences.

Should democracy fail to serve ordinary workers, Kurz cautioned, voters may gravitate towards authoritarian or fascist leaders.

He emphasised that historical precedent offers grounds for cautious optimism, however.

During the Great Depression, New Deal reforms successfully curtailed monopoly power and extended vital protections to vulnerable communities.

Were similar structural reforms to be implemented today, capitalism could become more humane without sacrificing its fundamental dynamism, Kurz suggested.