My god, you have almost written a complete post in a comment. ;)
My point is no matter who rules in a centralized way, they always want to keep their power and their status, and to remain there. They going to find a way to keep their wealth and keep the other class to work harder!
The real answer is to play smarter than them and find a way for your own wealth accumulation.
RE: Centralization-proofing in three parts