Millions of Americans have lost confidence in our political and economic system. After years of stagnant wages, volatile job markets, and an unwillingness by those in power to deal with profound threats such as climate change, there is a mounting sense that our system is rigged to serve only those select few with enough money to secure a controlling stake. With characteristic clarity and passion, Robert Reich shows how wealth and power have interacted to install an elite oligarchy, eviscerate the middle class, and undermine democracy.

Drawing on the example of Jamie Dimon—the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase—Reich exposes how those at the top propagate myths about meritocracy, national competitiveness, corporate social responsibility, and the “free market” to distract from their accumulation of extraordinary wealth and power. Reich outlines how, instead of answering the call to civic duty, this socioeconomic elite has chosen to uphold self-serving policies that line their own pockets and benefit their bottom line. Join Reich for an exposé that demystifies the system so that we might instill fundamental change and demand that democracy works for the majority once again.

Robert B. Reich is Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations and has written fifteen books, including The Work of Nations, The Common Good, Saving Capitalism, Supercapitalism, and Locked in the Cabinet.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle.