Workshop on “Plutocratic Democracy, Elon Musk, and the Limits of Campaign Finance Reform”

Guy-Uriel E. Charles & Farris Peale, Plutocratic Democracy, Elon Musk, and the Limits of Campaign Finance Reform.

Solum’s Download of the Week for September 13, 2025. Available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5397907.

This is a synthetic academic workshop generated using enTalkenator (variation of the Workshop template, using Gemini 2.5 Pro).

Abstract: “Politicians appear to be increasingly dependent upon a group of ultra-wealthy elites who not only fund their campaigns but are critical for the functioning of public governance. These ultrawealthy individuals provide the indispensable infrastructure, expertise, and communication that are critical to modern electoral politics. These ultra-wealthy individuals want more than influence, seeking instead to govern even though the voters do not elect them. This chapter describes this process and argues that the campaign finance literature, which is mired in a debate about corruption and equality, is not well-positioned to address this contemporary challenge to representative democracy. The piece refers to this challenge as "plutocratic democracy," and uses Elon Musk as a case study.”