"Let them eat cake" today

Jean- Jaques Rousseau, a French philosopher once wrote in his 1782 autobiography about a princess who had suggested that starving peasants simply should just eat brioche. The quote “Let them eat cake” then was falsely attributed to Marie Antoinette the queen of France from 1774- 1792, this quote still however remains relevant today due to our culture norms that involve the governing class being dominated by the wealthy. Due to the out of touch reality the wealthy have when it comes to the basic survival struggles ordinary citizens have, there tends to be a disconnect from government and rich and everyday people. 

To understand this topic you first must understand how wealth and political power relate. In a study published in 2014, political scientists Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page analyzed more than a thousand American policy issues to determine who actually influences the government decisions. Their findings demonstrated that large business owners and the economic elites held a significant influence on public policy in comparison to everyday people who had virtually no impact on what laws were passed. 

This is continued to be explained by political scientist Jefferey Winters in his 2011 book Oligarchy, where he demonstrated how the rich use their money for “income defense” by protecting their money through things like lobbying, tax loopholes, and campaign contributions. While millions of working families navigate rising housing costs, medical debt, and all sorts of financially impacting situations, the “Elite” routinely focus on policies that favor the rich. Political scientist Thomas Piketty also added to this argument when he observed that the wealthy naturally concentrated at the top of the social pyramid. 

The current state of this issue is defined by a public sense of alienation. According to a 2024 Pew Research Center report by Jenn Hatfield, 85% of U.S. adults believe that most elected officials do not care what “everyday people” think about them- this is a large rise from the 2000’s. Continuing on, the report showed that 70% of Americans felt that the wealthy donors, lobbyists, and special interest groups held too much power over Congress. When everyday Americans realize that elected leaders prioritize the elites over public necessity voters start to feel that traditional democracy was  rigged. 

When everyday people begin to feel like democracy is rigged they begin to think that their vote does not matter. However, even with all the power held by the rich and wealthy everyday people must continue to vote. As soon as the general population stops participating in civic responsibility, that's when all control is handed over. In order to combat this you see people across the country advocating for people to vote. Whether it is left or right, small school board elections or large presidential ones, each vote matters. 

I chose this topic because voting is important in today's society. Now more than ever we see a great divide between the democrats and the republicans. I believe a lot of that has to do with today’s society and the social and cultural issues between voters and politicians. People hold many strong opinions on the right versus the left, however they do not vote due to the fact that they feel middle to lower class votes are less impactful than those of the upperclass. More than ever before, I feel this topic is essential to bring up while our country is in a state of disagreement.  While it may feel challenging now is the most important time to vote and make all of our voices heard. 

In my design I have incorporated a large lopsided looking cake. This is a reference to the “let them eat cake” quote, with an actual representation of the cake. However it is made large and lopsided for a particular reason. The large look is to almost look overpowering to the rest of the quilt block, as the rich seem to be overpowering the vote of the everyday people. In addition the visibly unbalanced look is a reference to the towering lopsided cake in Cinderella. Aside from the white bubble that holds the words “Let….Them….Eat….Cake” the quilt square is meant to represent that of a traditional one with many mixed patterns and colors. However each cake layer does hold the common theme of having some sort of fluorescent design. This piece came together, in order to make a unique design which sends a powerful message that I am personally passionate about.

Gilens, Martin, and Benjamin I. Page. "Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens." Perspectives on Politics 12, no. 3 (2014): 564–81. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592714001595.

Hatfield, Jenn. "More Than 80% of Americans Believe Elected Officials Don't Care What People Like Them Think." Pew Research Center, April 30, 2024. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/30/more-than-80-of-americans-believe-elected-officials-dont-care-what-people-like-them-think/.

Piketty, Thomas. Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Translated by Arthur Goldhammer. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2014.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Translated by W. Conyngham Mallory. New York: Tudor Publishing, 1935. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3913.

Winters, Jeffrey A. Oligarchy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511793806.