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Liberalism extends 'rights' and 'freedoms' in a way that conserves power asymmetries (social position), concealing power. Capitalism is just another dimension of this. The idea that 'wealth' is what separates the elites from the masses obscures what's really happening.
The in-built critique of liberalism is that it'd work if we could rectify 'inequality'. But every liberal institution REQUIRES inequality to function. 'Free speech' is empty rhetoric; the legal framework of free speech plus elite ownership of the media gets you an official media.
It's not that the elite are the wealthy, it's that being wealthy is part of the system the elite use to remain the elite. Money is just tokens that elite hand out to themselves. This gives the false impression that you too could hit the jackpot and join their ranks.
The idea that it's wealth that makes the difference between the elite and the masses individualizes and obscures the role that social embeddedness plays. They don't have their position because of their wealth, they're wealthy because of their position.
