Mary Wollstonecraft: Tyranny of Wealth

Posted by admin on Sunday, September 17, 2017

Mary Wollstonecraft Money Quote saying when you replace abusive economic systems with shiny new egalitarian approaches have risks for those owning wealth to control finance. Mary Wollstonecraft said:
 

 

“England and America owe their liberty to commerce, which created a new species of power to undermine the feudal system. But let them beware of the consequences: the tyranny of wealth is still more galling and debasing than that of rank” — Mary Wollstonecraft

 

 

In this quote, Mary Wollstonecraft acknowledges that the rise of commerce and trade helped weaken feudal systems of hereditary power and authority in England and America, allowing for the emergence of greater liberty and representative democracy. However, she also issues a warning about potential new threats to freedom.

By stating that the “tyranny of wealth is still more galling and debasing than that of rank”, Wollstonecraft suggests concentrated economic power poses dangers akin to or exceeding those of aristocratic dominance if left unchecked. She implies wealth can corrupt political systems and undermine democratic ideals by translating money directly into disproportionate influence.

The overall interpretation is that while Wollstonecraft recognized commerce as liberating societies from rigid feudal hierarchies, she also perceived threats to liberty from unchecked wealth being used to manipulate laws and governance for the benefit of monied elites.

Her perspective conveys a view that while trade helped curtail political tyranny of the past, vigilance is needed regarding wealth becoming a new tool of oppression through corruption of democratic processes and subjugation of the populace to plutocratic rule.