The very rich lost a lot of ground over the last century due to the consolidation of democratic rule and the rise of unions. Power became leeched away from the wealthy who had been used to calling all the shots. A nation's wealth which had been concentrated in the hands of a very few became more evenly distributed.
The rich, therefore always knew who their enemies were and have mounted a relentless, century long attack on both government and unions. Their control of many media outlets has meant their messages were disseminated and they have succeeded brilliantly in making many ordinary people anti-government and anti-union. Ordinary people have not figured out that only government and unions can check the power of corporations and the wealthy; without them, all power will go to corporations. Do people really think these entities will deal fairly with us?