Crass Struggle

The über-wealthy adorn and amuse themselves at a high cost—to the planet. In “Crass Struggle,” R.T. Naylor outlines the pollution and misery caused by gold and diamond mining, and how private collectors strip countries of their cultural artifacts. Holders of great fortunes once built schools and libraries, but “conspicuous presumption” allows the “new parasitocracy,” as Naylor labels them, to consume vast resources as they erect grandiose tributes to themselves (one Mumbai oil magnate’s home accommodates his family’s 168 cars and several helicopters).rnrn