Are the Super Rich the Solution? A Review of Ralph Nader's New Book

Ralph Nader, a long time figure on the American left, has written a new book which typifies his basic political outlook, but also marks a new turn in the elucidation of his views.

The American tendency toward a philosophy of “pragmatism,” and the predominance of reformist ideas within the broader American left in general, are both personified by Nader, and his new book seems to set a seal on his overall political development in this direction.

In his fictional work, Only the Super Rich Can Save Us, Nader aims to change the world for the better of all, which is not surprising given Nader’s long history of writing political books around basic “progressive” issues. However, Nader’s past works have normally had a more “grass roots” focus, calling on ordinary citizens and consumers to get involved in politics in some form or another, in order to bring about a more democratic and just society. This thread, the focus on the “everyday” person, is notably dropped in his latest endeavor, instead putting forward a much more classical reformist position: calling on “enlightened” members of the ruling class to make a benevolent intervention to tend to the ills of society.

The main protagonist, a fictionalized Warren Buffet — U.S. investment billionaire — organizes a cadre of the super rich to use their combined economic, social and political power to address a myriad of issues facing the world. It is a twist on the Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged, in which the world’s leading capitalists and industrialists coordinate a sabotage “strike” against society in order to show the moral superiority of “selfishness” versus “altruism.” And like Rand, Nader uses the narrative as a political vehicle. However, unlike Rand, Nader hopes to coax some good out of the rich who dominate society, by appealing to their altruistic morality — whatever that might be. It is a case of pressure politics meeting “what if” story telling in a whopping 700 pages!

The basic question is once again: Reform or Revolution? Can capitalism simply be reformed, or must it be swept aside and replaced by a new form of human social organization? Nader not only seems to think that capitalism can be made kinder, but that it will be the capitalists themselves who will achieve this.

One problem — to say the least — with Nader’s scheme, is that it starts from the premise that the current ruling class (whether in the particular personalities he chooses, or more generally) can be a catalyst of social and political change. It also reduces the complex and real relations of capitalist production to the whimsy of a handful wealthy and well-meaning liberals. Unfortunately for Nader, not to mention the rest of us, these folks have thus far shown fairly little interest in making any real changes in the society of the real world. Perhaps Nader’s “vision” would be less fantastic if there actually were some layer of the capitalists that openly supported socialism, but this is far from being the case. The real Buffet, for example, held an “any of the above” position on the Democratic Party candidates in the last U.S. election during the primaries, and thus ended up supporting Obama. Not surprisingly, given his interest in maintaining the overall viability of capitalism, he also supported Bush and Obama’s multi-billion dollar bank-bailouts, saying, “I support the bailouts whole-heartedly.”

For literally centuries, we have seen countless real movements, revolts, uprisings and revolutions, whether successful or not. These are evidence that in order for ever larger numbers of people to be included in the running of society, it becomes necessary for them to toss away the old order and to begin by setting up new organs of power. History has many variations of course, but one thing is clear: waiting for the masters to free the exploited out of the goodness of their hearts is a poor strategy!

Far from organizing the secret overthrow of their own system, we can expect the minority at the top to do whatever is necessary to preserve the status quo and their rule. It is the majority of society, the world working class, which has the potential to really transform society. By taking over the big banks, the giant farms, the factories, shipping and transport, energy, communications and the rest of the commanding heights of the economy and coordinating it through a democratic plan, working people can really bring about a new era in history: socialism.

With all due respect for Nader’s past contributions to the movement, I cannot recommend this book. Simply put, there is a limited amount of time in the day, and for workers and youth the little time available for political study is precious! The basic works of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky could fill years of useful study, and give a much clearer idea of how to begin to really change the world.