Lezing
SG - Economic Inequality and Political Power
Tonight, we examine the relationship between corporate wealth and political power. How does the growing economic power of big tech extend to the political sphere?
About Economic Inequality and Political Power
What is at stake for society at large, if research suggests that private wealth increased eight times more than public wealth within two decades? Can democracies thrive under conditions of private wealth concentration? Tonight, we examine the relationship between corporate wealth and political power.
Drawing from her research in the Institutions for Open Societies programme, Professor Anna Gerbrandy shares her insights on how the growing economic power of big tech extends to the political sphere. How can this constitute a threat to an open society’s future? And why are existing institutions in her view currently not sufficiently well equipped to cope with this? Join the discussion on how we could rethink institutions to better contribute to open and resilient societies, with a focus on the role of competition law in safeguarding public values.
About lecture series Economic Inequality
The Ethics and Politics of Wealth Governance
We live in a world in which some individuals possess more wealth than entire nation states. Inequality has been on the rise in most countries. What’s more, the same goes for the disparity between public and private wealth: while governments have become poorer, private actors have become richer.
But who says high economic inequality is problematic? Is there such a thing as (un)acceptable inequality and what ethical underpinnings could there be for it? And what could be at stake for democracies? In this series, we delve into these matters and discuss the role of political choices.
About Anna Gerbrandy
Prof.dr. Anna Gerbrandy is professor of Competition Law at the Utrecht University School of Law. Anna is scientific co-director – together with Prof.dr. Rutger Claassen – of Utrecht University’s Strategic Theme Institutions for Open Societies, and is Crown Appointed member of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands. Her research nests within the framework of the interplay between the market sphere and the public sphere, and foundations of competition law, with a current focus on the power of big tech companies, their influence on markets and democracy, and competition law's answer.