First Class Passengers on a Sinking Ship: Elite Politics and the Decline of Great Powers

Placeholder author icon
By Richard Lachmann ’77

Published Dec. 13, 2019

In First Class Passengers on a Sinking Ship (Bloomsbury), sociology professor Richard Lachmann asserts that the U.S. is headed for an inevitable geopolitical decline in a similar manner to former powers such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Spain. While not inevitable, Lachmann argues, the consolidation of economic resources in the elite will lead to the decline of the entire country unless reversed.

Paw in print

Image
An inside look up the inside of a building, with four floors and a dinosaur skeleton visible.
The Latest Issue

April 2026

Inside the new ES and SEAS complex; kudos for austerity; jazz at Princeton.