Billionaire Backlash

The surprising story of how corporate scandals like the Lehman Shock and the Cambridge Analytica data scandal change the way the world works – for the better. Pepper Culpepper and Taeku Lee draw on a decade of research on policymaking and public opinion to show us how scandals can ignite a public with few political outlets for their discontent. Scandal no longer just dominates news cycles, they can inspire us to change policy, spur governments to action the rules that exist to protect us. Today it is giant companies, not governments, who run the world. They put rockets into space, control satellite communication and develop era-defining AI technologies. But around the globe, these corporate titans are facing increasing public hostility. Tech giants are accused of promoting misinformation, debasing democracy and violating our privacy. Big banks, reeling since the financial crisis of 2008, are racked with major scandals. Drawing on real-life examples such as the powdered milk scandal that rocked France, the VW scandal in Germany, Cambridge Analytica in Britain and Samsung in South Korea – the authors show that these terrible scandals are not just symptoms of a careless corporate elite, they are opportunities for real political change. Pepper Culpepper and Taeku Lee reveal how the anger of citizens can be channeled into a backlash that has the potential to reinvigorate our failing democracies. One corporate scandal at a time.