Even our liberal democracies, built on notions of freedom, equality and the rule of law, are hardly the paragons of virtue we like to think they are. Many liberal democracies can still multiply injustices with racism, poverty, inequality and ecological recklessness. The ability of corporations – big tech, big pharma, the energy lobby, the gambling cartels – to buy politicians and influence legislation poses the question as to whether Western nations are ruled by the people or a plutocracy of CEOs.
