The Threat to Democracy Posed by Extreme Wealth Inequality

This article examines the relationship between extreme wealth concentration and democratic erosion, arguing that capital accumulation — facilitated by corporate tax avoidance, intellectual property profit-shifting, and the role of transnational legal-financial professionals — structurally undermines democratic accountability. Drawing on Rawlsian political philosophy, particularly the difference principle, the author situates Ireland and Malta as case studies within the broader OECD post-2015 tax reform landscape. The analysis demonstrates how mechanisms such as the "Double Irish" scheme and IP licensing structures enable multinational corporations in the tech and pharmaceutical sectors to reduce effective tax rates to as low as 2–4%, concentrating capital income among the wealthiest 0.1% and generating monopolistic market conditions. The author contends that this fiscal architecture constitutes a democratic crisis with disproportionate impact on developing nations, and calls for radical multilateral tax reform to realign corporate taxation with democratic principles.