r > g
The formula illuminating America's present sorry-ass predicament while also lighting our path to a revivified democratic future of unity and general prosperity
There is a quiet arithmetic behind the unraveling of American democracy. It is not the clang of tanks or the fury of an occupying army. It is not always a villain in jackboots or a bomb in the marketplace. Instead, it is a simple inequality, rendered harmless-looking by its brevity: r > g.
This formula, introduced by economist Thomas Piketty, tells a bitter truth: the return on capital (r) exceeds the growth of the general economy (g). In practice, it means that money makes more money than people do. Those who own—land, stocks, machines, algorithms—see their wealth grow faster than those who labor. When left unchecked, this equation quietly and gradually concentrates power in the hands of the few, erodes trust in democratic institutions, and hollows out the American promises of liberty and equality.
If American democracy today feels like a haunted house—its windows boarded, its walls creaking with strain—it is because r > g has become more than a formula. It has become a ruling principle. Billionaires write policy. Corporations outbid citizens for influence. The courts drift away from the public, immune to both election and censure. And a great many citizens—exhausted, chronically underpaid, and digitally surveilled—withdraw from the civic stage entirely.
And yet, in this late hour, with the lights flickering and the storm drawing closer, we have a choice. The Fifth Turning—a new civic age of renewal, repair, and reason—is not inevitable. But neither is collapse. What follows is not prophecy, but blueprint: twelve tasks, each essential, each achievable, each designed to make our democracy not just survive, but deserve survival.
1. Cleanse Corruption from the System Corruption is not a flaw in the system—it is now the system. We must end legalized bribery by banning dark money, publicly financing elections, and passing sweeping anti-corruption laws. Officials who betray the public trust should be prosecuted, not promoted.
2. Subordinate Capitalism to Democracy Markets must serve the people, not rule them. Wealth taxes, public ownership of essential services, and antitrust enforcement are not radical—they are rational. The economy should be a tool of liberty, not its replacement.
3. Make Participation Universal and Empowered Voting must be as easy as breathing. Automatic registration, mail-in voting, ranked-choice ballots, and a national voting holiday would make democracy not just accessible but expected. Every voice must count, and every count must be trusted.
4. Reclaim the Information Commons Disinformation spreads faster than truth when profit is the algorithm's only compass. Break up monopolies, rebuild public media, and create decentralized, nonpartisan platforms where facts are free to breathe.
5. Bind AI to the Public Good Artificial intelligence must not be governed by private whim or military ambition. ASI must be open, accountable, and beholden to ethical, democratic oversight. Humanity must remain sovereign over its machines.
6. Treat Climate as Constitutional The climate is not a side issue. It is the stage on which every other policy will play out. Enshrine ecological protection as a foundational right and redirect defense spending toward planetary survival.
7. Prepare for Demographic Transition with Compassion As populations age and decline, our systems must adapt. Immigration, elder care, and reproductive rights must be viewed not as crises but as pillars of a sustainable civic life.
8. Free Survival from the Whip of Wages When robots do the farming and algorithms write the reports, we must ask: who benefits? The answer must be everyone. Guarantee food, housing, healthcare, and time to think. Work should not be the ticket to staying alive.
9. Deliver on Reparations and Restoration We must confront our history of theft and genocide not with apologies alone, but with policy. Land, capital, education, and political power must be returned and rebalanced. Justice is not a memory—it is a verb.
10. Rebuild Democracy from the Roots Up Federal systems must yield power to the places where people actually live. Cities, cooperatives, and tribal nations should hold more authority over their destinies. Civic imagination thrives locally.
11. Create a Culture of National Service Not through war, but through work. A climate corps. An eldercare corps. A teaching corps. Let every citizen give something back—not as penance, but as practice in belonging to each other.
12. Rewrite the Rules, Together The Constitution, though revered, was written by slaveowners in powdered wigs. Its best ideals must be preserved—but its worst silences must be broken. Call a Second Constitutional Convention by 2050, one where all are welcome, and all are heard.
BONUS: Think Like a Planet, Act Like a People We are not alone in this universe, and soon we will not be alone with our own intelligence. Whether we face climate catastrophe or artificial superintelligence, the task remains: to become not just a country that survives, but a species that matures. We are in the midsts of The Fourth Turning now; The Fifth Turning, coming in about 80 years, will present yet another crossroads—if our nation can survive the current chaos. Let us begin in this moment to meet the future with courage, rationality, and deep and abiding respect for our fellow citizens.
The task is vast. But so are We The People.
Dane & Betty’s “Missing the Point” Podcast. Sponsored by the evil Alphabet Corp.
