Sean Elias

The mountain resort town of Aspen, Colorado, is an ultra-exclusive power elite ‘enclave’ and ‘hub’ where both the US and global power elite own property, vacation, and meet together. Over fifty billionaires have homes or real estate investments in Aspen; more than 90% of the world’s billionaires at some point have docked their private aircraft at "Sardy Field," the town’s airport. Aspen is defined by exclusivity, where the average home price hovers in the multiple millions. Based on years of in-depth ethnographic field research, this rare look into the lives of the super-wealthy sheds new light on how the 1% lives, thinks, and wields extraordinary power in America and internationally. The book’s vivid prose makes the book an ideal reading for courses in social class, inequality, and social stratification, and power in American society. In Aspen, Veblen’s notion of conspicuous consumption has morphed into colossal consumption, Marx’s observations of "mammon" or "avarice" of the capitalist ownership class has transformed into hyper-gluttony and warp-greed that Marx would have difficulty comprehending. Moreover, Aspen is site of the intersections of politics, money, and war, where one witnesses the elites’ control over states, economies, and militaries that Mills and Domhoff identify.

The mountain resort town of Aspen, Colorado, is an ultra-exclusive power elite ‘enclave’ and ‘hub’ where both the US and global power elite own property, vacation, and meet together. Over fifty billionaires have homes or real estate investments in Aspen; more than 90% of the world’s billionaires at some point have docked their private aircraft at "Sardy Field," the town’s airport. Aspen is defined by exclusivity, where the average home price hovers in the multiple millions. Based on years of in-depth ethnographic field research, this rare look into the lives of the super-wealthy sheds new light on how the 1% lives, thinks, and wields extraordinary power in America and internationally. The book’s vivid prose makes the book an ideal reading for courses in social class, inequality, and social stratification, and power in American society. In Aspen, Veblen’s notion of conspicuous consumption has morphed into colossal consumption, Marx’s observations of "mammon" or "avarice" of the capitalist ownership class has transformed into hyper-gluttony and warp-greed that Marx would have difficulty comprehending. Moreover, Aspen is site of the intersections of politics, money, and war, where one witnesses the elites’ control over states, economies, and militaries that Mills and Domhoff identify.

Racial Theories in Social Science: A Systemic Racism Critique provides a critique of the white racial framing and lack of systemic-racism analysis prevalent in past and present mainstream race theory. As this book demonstrates, mainstream racial analysis, and social analysis more generally, remain stunted and uncritical because of this unhealthy white framing of knowledge and evasion or downplaying of institutional, structural, and systemic racism. In response to ineffective social science analyses of racial matters, this book presents a counter-approach---systemic racism theory. The foundation of this theoretical perspective lies in the critical insights and perspectives of African Americans and other people of color who have long challenged biased white-framed perspectives and practices and the racially oppressive and exclusionary institutions and social systems created by whites over several centuries.

Racial Theories in Social Science: A Systemic Racism Critique provides a critique of the white racial framing and lack of systemic-racism analysis prevalent in past and present mainstream race theory. As this book demonstrates, mainstream racial analysis, and social analysis more generally, remain stunted and uncritical because of this unhealthy white framing of knowledge and evasion or downplaying of institutional, structural, and systemic racism. In response to ineffective social science analyses of racial matters, this book presents a counter-approach---systemic racism theory. The foundation of this theoretical perspective lies in the critical insights and perspectives of African Americans and other people of color who have long challenged biased white-framed perspectives and practices and the racially oppressive and exclusionary institutions and social systems created by whites over several centuries.