# Straight Dope 2/10/2023: Are billionaires bad for democracy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [February 10, 2023, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dope-2-10-2023-are-billionaires-bad-for-democracy/979580 "2023-02-10T15:33:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dope-2-10-2023-are-billionaires-bad-for-democracy/979580/101 "2024-05-22T18:49:22Z")
This gets to the crux. Wealth is power and power is wealth. It is self evident to the point of being tautological that extreme power concentrated in a very few hands with the vast majority having very little power is anti democratic. How that power is used is irrelevant to that. Good works are nice but not the question. The ideal form of government might be a benevolent dictatorship, if such could exist and be sustainable, but it would not be a democratic government. Concentrated power is an oligopoly. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dope-2-10-2023-are-billionaires-bad-for-democracy/979580/102 "2024-05-25T00:25:59Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > …if such could exist and be sustainable, but it would not be a democratic government. And that would be better than a democratic government at our national level, where, you know, we’re not a democracy, despite the stupid 17th amendment. Tyranny of the masses. 'Nuff said. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-dope-2-10-2023-are-billionaires-bad-for-democracy/979580.md?page=5)