The Problem of the American Gentry — Market Mad House

Strangely, one of the biggest impediments to progress in America is something few observers notice: America’s gentry. If you need a definition of gentry Tides of History podcaster Patrick Wyman provides one in a great essay for The Atlantic.

“Gentry are, by definition, local elites,” Wyman writes. “ The extent to which they wield power in their locality, and how they do so, is dependent on the structure of their regime.