The Gospel of Wealth - A Story of Capitalism

At the beginning of the industrial revolution, Rockefeller, Carnegie and JP Morgan had established monopolistic positions, but in 1913, a tax on the income of the richest was voted in. All hell broke loose in 1929 with the stock market crash. The governement step in. Two opposing blocs emerged: the "liberals" in favour of the New Deal and the "conservatives" who wanted to return to the pre-1929 world. After the Second World War, GDP doubled and the 40 biggest companies accounted for half of production. It was in their interest to accept trade unions and pay taxes in exchange for growth prospects, they became "liberal".

American capitalism had accepted the welfare state : Democrats and Republicans were now all "liberals". Wealthy Americans paid high taxes and financed American science, culture and medicine. At the same time, initiatives to circumvent social laws multiplied. The invention of temporary work (Manpower), new management practices where the employee obeys the boss as if he were God (Wal-Mart). The 1973 oil crisis was the final blow to the post-war social and industrial consensus. In 1975, debt-ridden New York City was abandoned to its fate by the federal government, which forced it to implement a massive redundancy programme, including for firefighters and the police, while poverty and crime exploded.

In 1982, Reagan pursued an ultra-capitalist conservative policy, lowering taxes, particularly for the rich, while poverty increased and money was everywhere. New York was in the hands of property developers such as Fred Trump and his son Donald. Property prices soared and Manhattan was transformed into a haven for millionaires. There was a concentration of capital in every field, including healthcare (Pfizer), which led to a drastic increase in the cost of drugs and a fourfold increase in the cost of healthcare in the United States. In 1995, a tech boss became the richest American : Bill Gates was now worth 9.35 billion dollars. Silicon Valley became the new cradle of tech with the creation of Amazon in 1995, Google in 1998 and Facebook in 2004. The 2000s saw a new battle described as dangerous for these economic and political superpowers: the race for data, a new goldmine for the tech giants.