plutonomy

English

Etymology

From pluto- +‎ -nomy.

In modern use popularised by the team of Citigroup global strategist Ajay Kapur.[1]

Noun

plutonomy (countable and uncountable, plural plutonomies)

  1. (chiefly derogatory) The study of the production and distribution of wealth, or a society seen as dominated by such concerns. [from 19th c.]
    • 1866, Frederic Harrison, "Industrial Co-operation", in The Fortnightly Review, vol. III, page 499:
      On this side it [Socialism] is a crude compromise between the claims of labour and of capital — the hybrid child of Plutonomy and Communism.
    • 2015, Martin Ford, The Rise of the Robots, Oneworld:
      The analysts argued that the United States was evolving into a “plutonomy”—a top-heavy economic system where growth is driven primarily by a tiny, prosperous elite who consume an ever larger fraction of everything the economy produces.

Derived terms

References
  1. “Plutonomics”, Robert Frank, Wall Street Journal blog The Wealth Report, January 8, 2007:
    ‘Ajay Kapur, global strategist at Citigroup, and his research team came up with the term “Plutonomy” in 2005 to describe a country that is defined by massive income and wealth inequality. According to their definition, the U.S. is a Plutonomy, along with the U.K., Canada and Australia.’
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