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Good-for-Nothing Entrepreneurs: Capitalism and Democratic Decline in the West

Author

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  • Naudé, Wim

    (RWTH Aachen University)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the relationship between capitalism and the decline in democracy in the West over the past quarter-century. Using data from the V-Dem Institute, Freedom House, and the World Inequality Database, a strong correlation is found between inequality, the rise of tech billionaires, and democratic erosion. This correlation is explained by describing how tech oligarchs grow their political influence through their digital platforms, and their societal control via surveillance and influence of sense-making. The pivot of tech oligarchs toward the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) will accelerate the erosion of democracy. The implication is that efforts to regulate the digital economy to protect democracy will not be effective unless accompanied by decisive measures to break up the oligarchy and dismantle the Permanent War Economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Naudé, Wim, 2025. "Good-for-Nothing Entrepreneurs: Capitalism and Democratic Decline in the West," IZA Discussion Papers 18293, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18293
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Henrekson, Magnus & Sanandaji, Tino, 2013. "Small Business Activity Does not Measure Entrepreneurship," Working Paper Series 959, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 26 Jan 2014.
    2. Sergei Guriev & Daniel Treisman, 2019. "Informational Autocrats," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 100-127, Fall.
    3. Mazzoni, Leonardo & Naudé, Wim & Innocenti, Niccolò, 2025. "The myth of entrepreneurship as a tool: Reorienting business venturing as a goal in itself in a post-growth society," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    4. Wim Naudé, 2022. "From the entrepreneurial to the ossified economy," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 46(1), pages 105-131.
    5. Steven A. Brieger & Diana M. Hechavarría & Arielle Newman, 2024. "Entrepreneurship and Democracy: A Complex Relationship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 48(5), pages 1285-1307, September.
    6. Naudé, Wim, 2024. "What They Don't Teach You about Artificial Intelligence at Business School: Stagnation, Oil, and War," IZA Discussion Papers 17306, IZA Network @ LISER.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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