Hate and Fury of the New Gilded Age in America

The most powerful reason that created fear and anger fueling the voting in the 2024 US election was the rampant corruption and takeover by the elites of America as a whole.

When Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old app developer, shot down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson the way America reacted was very different from any assassination that may have been committed earlier.

It was in cold blood by a calm and ruthlessly confident young man out in the open.

The bullet casings had the words - “delay,” “deny” and “depose”.

The first two point to the tactics that the insurers use. Often using "algorithms to deny treatments and refusing coverage of nursing care to stroke patients" (Source: New York Times)

The phrase resembled the words used by the attorneys “delay, deny, defend." Only the last one being replaced by deposed.

Ever since the murder, Mangione has become a sort of celebrity.

So the shooter was the subject of murder ballads and general sympathy, even a look-alike contest. As of this writing, there are more than 100 fanfics about the shooter on Archive of Our Own, many of them written before Mangione was arrested. Breloom, the pokémon in Mangione’s header photo on X, has been selling out. Mangione-themed merch is all over Etsy; Amazon has been removing the merch popping up on its platform. Ken Klippenstein, a Substack journalist, published a short statement from Mangione that is rather grandiosely being referred to as a “manifesto.” Users on r/SkincareAddicts jokingly alibied him, saying he was getting a facial with them on December 4th. (Source: The Verge)

The hate for the elite and their tactics to make money - specifically business like Health Insurers and Arms - are palpable in the larger social discourse.

That reminds one of the Gilded Age in America when the "American Dream" started.

What was that?

The Gilded Age of the 19th Century

The term was popularized by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their satirical novel, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873).

On the face of it, everything glittered, but under the surface America was a cesspool corruption, inequality, and social violence.

Many factors that were happening at that time were new and at scale never seen before!

• Industrialization: The U.S. became a major industrial power, with the rise of industries such as steel, railroads, oil, and manufacturing.
• Wealth Inequality: The era saw the emergence of extremely wealthy industrialists and financiers (e.g., Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt) while the majority of the population, including laborers and immigrants, lived in poverty.
• Urbanization: Cities grew rapidly, leading to overcrowding, poor living conditions, and the rise of tenements.
• Political Corruption: Political machines like New York's Tammany Hall wielded immense power, often engaging in bribery and patronage.
• Labor Struggles: Workers fought for better conditions and wages, leading to strikes and the formation of labor unions.
• Racism and Discrimination: The post-Reconstruction South implemented Jim Crow laws, while Native Americans faced displacement and violence. Immigrants, particularly from Asia and Southern/Eastern Europe, faced xenophobia.

These sudden changes led to major societal upheavals.

1. The lack of labor protections meant disputes often escalated into violence.
2. Ethnic and racial tensions were heightened by massive immigration and the institutionalization of racism.
3. The frontier mentality fostered a culture of vigilantism and extrajudicial killings.
4. The concentration of power in the hands of a few industrialists and corrupt politicians left the disenfranchised to resort to drastic measures for justice.

This period was marked with anger against the elite and really anyone who "looked different" - Blacks, Chinese, Native Americans.

Also less well remembered is the intensity of political violence that erupted. The vast inequities of the era fueled political movements that targeted corporate titans, politicians, judges and others for violence. In 1892, an anarchist tried to assassinate the industrialist Henry Clay Frick after a drawn-out conflict between Pinkerton security guards and workers. In 1901, an anarchist sympathizer assassinated President William McKinley. And so on. (Source: New York Times)

It was a time of anarchy amidst growth.

The New Gilded Age?

The new Gilded Age - from the looks of things happening - seems to be spiraling into something that may be no different.

Mangione's action and its resonance in the larger popular culture has sent shock waves across the board rooms.

The impact on the insurance companies has been remarkable. They need to shield their executives and for that they are going to any extent.

Several companies have removed photos of their executives from their websites. One insurer temporarily closed its headquarters. Another insurer switched its investor day from in person to online. (Source: The Verge)

Wearing the "crown" is obviously fraught with trouble.

A Deep Social Chasm

Clearly there are two societies living in the US today:

1. Elites: Who control everything
2. The Rest: Who are controlled and disciplined to follow laws that elites do not

This dichotomy has created a rift in the society and is now fueling uncontrolled anger. The anger, sometimes understandable and sometimes backed by racism (as in the case of targeting of H1Bs and Indian Americans), is manifesting in every area.

Including the road.

What does this tell us about the state and the direction of the US in 2025 and beyond?

Share in the comments below.