The post-pandemic inflation crisis and resulting cost-of-living pressures have exposed corporate influence on economic hardship. Policymakers, economic commentators, and central banks largely blamed inflation on geopolitical shocks and pandemic-era stimulus. Central banks responded with interest rate hikes to ‘cool demand,’ further straining ordinary people. Meanwhile, workers’ wage increases were stifled due to unfounded claims they would worsen inflation, with the Bank of England (2023) even stating workers should “accept they are poorer.” Amidst this crisis, corporate profits soared to record levels as firms exploited inflationary pressures to raise prices beyond costs — which has received remarkably little scrutiny. The lack of accountability highlights a democratic deficit, suggesting our system increasingly resembles a plutocracy where corporate power goes unchecked.
This research builds on Isabella Weber’s ‘seller’s inflation’ theory, which argues that firms with few competitors exploit inflationary shocks and consumer uncertainty to tacitly collude and raise prices beyond cost increases. With shareholder value as their priority, corporations have treated inflation as an opportunity, smuggling in higher profit margins— ‘not letting a good crisis go to waste’ (Mirowski, 2014). Drawing on empirical research from central banks, think tanks, and trade unions, this study concludes that corporate profiteering significantly fuelled inflation, enabling a major wealth transfer from labour to capital. This analysis critiques the broader neoliberal economy, which has allowed the power of capital to eclipse labour, deepening inequality and fuelling political instability. In an era of recurring global crises, without scrutinising corporate profiteering, this pattern is bound to repeat.