Gabriel Zucman

And there is always a fundamental tension in democratic societies between

the concentration of wealth on the one hand, and extreme wealth in particular, and the very possibility of a democratic society.

All the people who have written on democracy, back to Aristotle, they've written about that.

But that's

exactly what's happening, right?

It's this kind of loop where wealth begets power, which begets more wealth.

And look at what's happening in the U.S.

with, frankly, the plutocratic collapse of the federal government.

Just yesterday,

The government announced that Trump had signed a deal with the IRS, according to which he and his family would be shielded from any tax audit for the rest of their life.

Because Trump had sued the IRS because his tax return had been disclosed, and he was asking $10 billion from the agency that he controls as president.

And they settled on, okay, let's make a deal.

You're not going to have to pay me $10 billion, but from now on, you're forbidden from just auditing my tax returns or those of my children.

Look at the degree, not only of...

corruption, but the total oligarchy capture of the government.

And you have to also realize how fast it can happen.

Because sometimes people look at the US and they're like, whatever happens there cannot happen here.

But no, no.

First, it's a global trend.

It can happen very fast.