Because with large amounts of money comes enormous power -- especially in a mostly unregulated free market system. Power to influence the political conversation through media. Power to directly influence law makers through lobbyists and donations. Power to buy your way out of punishment ($100 speeding ticket or parking ticket is nothing to someone with millions or billions of dollars. It provides zero disincentive.)
When inequality gets high enough and power concentrated enough, Democracy decays towards oligarchy, social mobility grinds to a halt, what was a free and relatively classless system becomes an ossified aristocracy and freedom slowly devolves to a dystopian tyranny.
We're already seeing the beginning of this process in American society. Already, we have substantial evidence supporting the idea that Democracy has decayed into Oligarchy -- and it did so several decades ago. [1]
This matters if you value a free and just society. It matters a lot.
When inequality gets high enough and power concentrated enough, Democracy decays towards oligarchy, social mobility grinds to a halt, what was a free and relatively classless system becomes an ossified aristocracy and freedom slowly devolves to a dystopian tyranny.
We're already seeing the beginning of this process in American society. Already, we have substantial evidence supporting the idea that Democracy has decayed into Oligarchy -- and it did so several decades ago. [1]
This matters if you value a free and just society. It matters a lot.
[1] https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/fi...