"How relevant are these observations for developments today? The historical cases where
markets emerged as the dominant allocation
system for factors of production (land, labour and capital) all showed an accumulation of
wealth in the hands of a small group, which then also concentrated political power, shaping
incentives in markets that increased inequality and environmental calamities. Today, even in
parliamentary democracies, economic wealth again seems to be translated into political leverage—through lobbying, campaign financing and owning media and information—whereas
mobile wealth owners can easily isolate themselves, for say, social disruption or environmental degradation. History shows that these developments are not aberrations or accidental
events. And perhaps they require broader and deeper consideration of a wider range of policy
actions to curb the concentration of economic and political power. The concentration of economic power (wealth), the first stage, is easiest to curb. But after the establishment of economic power and its translation to political dominance, this is far harder to do." (UNDP, 2019)