Donald Trump is Creating a Plutocracy and So Far That Seems Popular

Remember when it seemed possible that Republicans were abandoning economic royalism?  Remember when they made the discovery that actually corporations can do wrong and can oppress.  Not by selling unsafe products, of course, or by having unsafe work conditions or ruining the environment, of course, but maybe Bud Lite seeking endorsement of a trans influencer.  Of course, Republican deviation from economic royalism was not a serious deviation, just an expression of anger at "woke capital."  An ideology of corporations can do no wrong was simply giving way to an ideology of corporations can do no wrong -- unless they say something "woke."

Fast forward to today when, probably unsurprisingly, Donald Trump appears to be going all-out economic royalist and is turning his administration into an open plutocracy.  He has cut a deal with big money interests -- cut the wokeness, and I will give you everything else you want.  They are eagerly taking him up on it.  Trump his stocking his administration with billionaires and letting oil companies set energy policy in exchange for campaign contributions.  And don't be so foolish as to think this will hurt his populist street cred.  Part of Trump's true stroke of genius is to turn economic royalism into a populist ideology.

I should add, just for the record, that this is entirely consistent with general Republican ideology for a long time.  People on our side of the aisle have been complaining for a long time the Republicans dismiss knowledge, expertise, and meritocracy.  Republicans, I would guess, would dispute this.  Their formulation, instead is plutocracy = meritocracy.  They simply see the true measure of people who know most in a field, not as degrees or credentials, or study, but as how much money one makes at it.  Thus whoever makes the most money in any given field clearly knows the most about it and is best qualified to set policy.  Letting oil companies set energy policy is popular in the assumption that oil companies want to maximize production, which will reduce prices.  

And the same in any other field.  The general assumption is that whatever maximizes corporate profits necessarily maximizes the public good.  Government of the richest, by the richest, and for the richest is naturally government to the benefit of all.  The whole idea that our plutocrats might have interests that differ from the broad general public (or, for that matter, from each other) is dismissed as Communism. Thus not only plutocracy = meritocracy, but plutocracy = the public good and therefore, ultimately, plutocracy = democracy.

And, following the same logic, since Elon Musk is the world's richest man, he must also be the smartest, most competent, and best qualified to run things.  Musk likes saying, "Vox populi, vox Dei" (the voice of the people is the voice of God).  Unstated in this assumption -- "Vox Musk, vox populi."  And, after all, since Musk is the world's richest, and therefore worthiest, person, who would presume to disagree with him?

Still, with all that being said, it is not so clear to me whether plutocracy would be so popular if anyone other than Donald Trump were promoting it.