gilded age
Shiny surface, rot
A gilded age is any era of rapid economic growth marked by ostentatious wealth, corruption, and sharp inequality between rich and poor.
The phrase suggests something covered in gold leaf rather than solid gold—gleaming on the surface but base underneath: Critics called the tech boom a new gilded age. (Capitalized Gilded Age is the specific American historical period.)
Dishonest abuse of power
- inequalityUnequal distribution of resources
- disparityMeasurable difference between things
- stratificationDivision into distinct levels
- exploitationSelfish use of others
plutocracy · excess · extravagance · veneer · economic boom · wealth gap · nouveau riche · decadence
corruption
Dishonest abuse of power
- inequalityUnequal distribution of resources
- disparityMeasurable difference between things
- stratificationDivision into distinct levels
exploitation · plutocracy · excess · extravagance · veneer · economic boom · wealth gap · nouveau riche · decadence
- RussiaRussia, Moscow, Kremlin, Red Square, Siberia
- 1800sVictorian era, Napoleon, Queen Victoria, Industrial Revolution, Abraham Lincoln
- erasera, epoch, period, Victorian era, colonial era
- historical erasRenaissance, Victorian era, Medieval, Tudor era, Georgian era
- vintagevintage, antique, retro, old-fashioned, nostalgic
- design stylesart deco, Art Nouveau, art nouveau, Bauhaus, minimalism
gilded ageGreat Depression
1930s global economic crisis
depression · economic collapse · bust · hard times · austerity
gilded agegolden age
Period of peak prosperity
solid gold · sustainable growth · the real thing · genuine article · solid foundation
gilded ageProgressive Era
US social reform period
New Deal era · social democracy · progressive era · classless society · economic justice
age, aged, ages, aging, ageing, gilded, gilding, gilt, gilds