John Adams and the Fear of American Oligarchy

In 'John Adams and the Fear of American Oligarchy,' Luke Mayville delves into John Adams's deep concern about the way inequality threatens to corrode democracy and empower a small elite.

Adams believed that wealth is politically powerful not only because it buys influence but also because citizens often admire and identify with the rich.

Mayville examines Adams’s theory of wealth and power in the context of his broader concerns about social and economic disparities, and how these reflections illuminate contemporary debates about inequality and its political consequences.

The book also explores Adams’s ideas on how oligarchy might be countered, offering important lessons for today’s world.