Few people require less introduction than Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. A relentless advocate for universal health care, labor rights, and taxing the rich, the two-time Democratic presidential candidate, now 84 years old, serves as de facto maestro of the American progressive movement. If you’ve got a bone to pick with the one percent, chances are you were at least partially inspired by his various campaigns, speeches, and general gadflyery.
In his new book, Fight Oligarchy, Sanders once again makes his pitch for a more equitable society, this time cast through the prism of our current authoritarian moment. Packed with evidentiary statistics and troubling examples, Sanders’s latest suggests that even if billionaires previously held an antagonistic amount of power, the United States (and indeed the world) is now on the precipice of becoming an outright oligarchy—a society that functions solely for the whims of the ultrawealthy, to the detriment of everyone else.
“As bad as the situation has been in the past, it is worse today,” Sanders tells Vanity Fair. “And then when you also recognize Trump and his movement toward authoritarianism…”
Senator Sanders spoke with Vanity Fair about the connections between oligarchal policy and some of the most looming issues of our day, from soaring housing costs to migration and Gaza. The solution, he argues, will involve massive systemic change spurred by the participation of everyday people—specifically more nonpoliticians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez running for office. (The call ended before we could explore the more complicated example of Graham Platner.)
Vanity Fair: Over the years, you’ve been so consistent in your message that I bet a lot of us could write a halfway decent Bernie Sanders speech by memory. In Fight Oligarchy, you address a lot of the same concerns you have previously. So what does this book bring to that conversation that’s new or different?
Bernie Sanders: We are living in an unprecedented moment in American history, so it’s not just, “Hey, people are getting much richer—that’s a problem.” You tie that to the fact that you have an authoritarian president, tied to the fact that the oligarchs are now investing hundreds of billions of dollars into AI and robotics—which I think will have a devastating economic impact—tied to the fact that we have this disaster Citizens United Supreme Court decision. Money has always played a role in politics, no doubt, no question. But right now, when you have one guy, the richest guy in the world, spending $270 million to elect Donald Trump as president, are we really living in a democracy?
