Political consequences of economic inequality

I came across this podcast, with David Rothkopf, author of Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They are Making. In the book, he takes a look at the ‘Power Elite’, defined as those people exercising power over millions of people, across borders, over an extended period of time. According to those criteria, he identifies 6,600 people, or roughly 1/1,000,000 who are wielding disproportionate power. It’s worth listening to for itself own sake, but then there’s this, on the political consequences of economic inequality:

[quote=“Slate: Egalitarian Conservatism.”] In the Sept. 7 New York Times magazine, David Frum writes that inequality

[quote]
taken to extremes can overwhelm conservative ideals of self-reliance, limited government and national unity. It can de-legitimize commerce and business and invite destructive protectionism and overregulation. Inequality, in short, is a conservative issue too.[/quote][/quote]It also becomes less Republican, less conservative.

I’d like to hear how those who favour letting the market sort things out, or favour a meritocracy, would reconcile the inevitable inequality with the concerns outlined above.