U.S. Dominant Capital — a 2021 update

[Jonathan Nitzan]

The power of dominant capital continues to rise.

Here we show the after-tax profit and market capitalization of the top 0.01% of U.S.-based corporations, expressed as a % of U.S. GDP.

Updated from ‘The Asymtptoes of Power‘.

Topic

[Pieter de Beer]

in 2019, James Glattfelder and Stefano Battison of the University of Zurich published a paper The architecture of power: Patterns of disruption and stability in the global ownership network

In this they show that while the global network of owners and shareholders fluctuates, the core of the network remains largely stable.

To me, this says 2 things.

1.  The differential power of Dominant Capital seems to have a winners network that remains relatively constant. and while some individuals, firms, or conglomerates of interests may rise within the ranks, they are more likely than not to be losers in the long run.
2. The resilience to deep economic shocks indicates that either Dominant Capital is self-sustaining to a large extent (too large to fail… which I doubt), or the systems of support power that it has developed over the last 4 decades are specifically designed to assist in the weathering of these economic storms, which in turn implies that Dominant Capital may be encouraging high risk volatility (massive bubbles) in order to consolidate power during the resulting shock. (this last part is speculation, but as a strategy, it is sound, especially if you have hedged your bets by creating the necessary legislation to support  the top rungs of capital)

 

[Author]

Replies