People comprise more value than physical resources. People can innovate, adapt, create. Those that hold the value hold the power. Any situation where the minority is in control has always been temporary historically, because of this fundamental fact. It may take years, generations, or centuries, but things have always gravitated back towards balance.

The only thing that could disrupt this is AI, because it could conceivably allow a single powerful person to have the equivalent of an army of perfect (cognitive) servants. Our minds have always been our most valuable and exclusive resource. If that status quo is disrupted, all bets are off.

Of course nobody actually knows what AI will do to the world. Maybe it'll allow elites to do away with the rest of humanity. Maybe it'll take control of society for our own good. Maybe it'll never actually be able to duplicate our mental plasticity and there's nothing to worry about. Maybe global warming will end civilization before we reach the singularity. Who knows. I simply choose not to spend much time thinking that far ahead, because I'm not really in a position to do anything about it.

It’s a nice screed, but history has shown, time and time again, that monarchs and empires are the most stable form of government.