The Oligarchy

[Time for change]

I just finished reading a novel that in telling a story of some of the dark aspects of our country comes so close to reality that it could just about be considered a very long editorial rather than a novel (though it reads like a novel). It might be considered a very accurate historical novel, except that the history is too recent to put it in that category.

The book is “Inside Out” by Barry Eisler. It is the 41st chapter, titled “The Oligarchy”, that I consider the most important part of the book, with regard to what it says about our country. Eisler’s “Oligarchy” is chillingly similar to a description that I posted on DU a couple months ago:

Many ordinary Americans speculate about the “Powers That Be” (PTB), the unelected but powerful and shadowy elite who seem to exercise influence over national and world events far more than a lot of people realize. Yet because of their shadowy nature they are very difficult to talk about with much confidence.

Despite their often minimal visibility, they seem to have their fingerprints over much of our nation’s history. Their ultimate purpose and motives can only be guessed at, but two aspects of our nation’s current condition seem to stand out above most others: 1) Rampant militarism manifested by a military budget almost equal to that of the rest of the world combined, a philosophy of perpetual war, more than 700 military bases scattered throughout all parts of the world, and imperialistic behavior and attitudes in relation to the other nations of the world; and 2) Obscenely unequal distribution of wealth.

Two of the main characters in Eisler’s book work for the portion of the U.S. military known as “Joint Special Operations Command” (JSOC), which is described as the

joint headquarters designed to study special operations requirements and techniques; ensure interoperability and equipment standardization; plan and conduct joint special operations exercises and training; and develop joint special operations tactics.

Ben is tasked by his boss, Hort, to track down a man who gained possession of CIA torture videotapes that are so horrifying that the top of the US government hierarchy is scared shitless. The man blackmails the US government for $100 million with the threat of releasing the tapes. These are the same tapes that the New York Times spoke of on Dec. 6, 2007 as being two tapes that “were destroyed in part because officers were concerned that tapes documenting controversial interrogation methods could expose agency officials…” On March 2, 2009, it came out that the two “destroyed” tapes were in fact 92 “destroyed” tapes.

I won’t tell you how Ben fared in trying to track down the blackmailer. I’ll just say that I was rooting for the blackmailer the whole way and hoping that he would release the tapes whether he got his money or not, as he intended to do.

Near the end of the book, Hort explains the basics of the U.S. Oligarchy to Ben:


The U.S. Oligarchy

Hort: America is ruled by an oligarchy. And if you don’t understand the oligarchy, you can’t understand America.

Ben: I don’t know what you mean.

Hort: I mean a small group of people having de facto control over a country.

Ben: You’re talking about a conspiracy?

Hort: Not at all. Conspiracies are hidden. The oligarchy is right out in the open. It’s just a collection of people in business, politics, the military, and the media who recognize their interests are better served by cooperation than they would be by competition. There aren’t any secret handshakes. Most of the people who are part of the oligarchy don’t even recognize its existence. If they recognize it at all, they think of it as just a benevolent, informal establishment. They tell themselves it selflessly serves the country’s interests rather than selfishly serving their own.

Ben: How does it work?

Hort: Arthur Anderson was examining Enron. The credit agencies were examining the subprimes. That alone ought to tell you everything you need to know about the way the oligarchy works.

Ben: But it doesn’t have – I don’t know – rules?

Hort: There are a few unwritten ones. Number one, above a certain pay grade, a politician can never be prosecuted or imprisoned….

Comment
The one part of this discussion where I somewhat disagree with Hort is where he says that the oligarchy “is right out in the open”. It is and it isn’t. There are enough clues that any clear thinking and well informed adult ought to be able to pick it out. But on the other hand, a great many of the details are hidden. For example, the details on the torture videotapes that Hort tasked Ben to track down. The details are important. And in this particular situation more than most, the devil is indeed in the details.


Oligarchy immunity from punishment

Ben wants to know whether the major perpetrators of U.S. torture would go to prison in the face of clear proof of their guilt:

Hort: Some would. After all, we know from Abu Ghraib that it’s all about the pictures. No pictures, no proof. No proof, no scandal. No scandal, no convictions. But even with video proof of (the most horrifying torture) the real architects would never suffer. The oligarchy wouldn’t be able to whitewash in the way they did Abu Ghraib, but they’d just scapegoat a slightly higher level target. The midlevel bureaucrats… You see, when the oligarchy looks in the mirror and says, “The state is me”, it’s not inaccurate. It’s not hubris. They’re just describing reality. They’ve made it so.

Comment
There are of course numerous reasons why the most powerful and well known among the oligarchy are virtually exempted from being held accountable for their crimes. One of the major reasons – perhaps the major reason – is psychological.

The American public has long been conditioned to believe that its top leaders and the policies they pursue, though often imperfect and misguided, are never ill intended. This conditioning is enforced by constant repetition from most of our politicians and the media who support them. Challenging that view generally results in marginalization, scorn, condemnation, ridicule, and a wide array of epithets such as “Communist” or “conspiracy theorist”. Worse, it can result in various punishments such as the loss of one’s job or worse. For example, in 1998, when five Cubans provided the FBI with proof of a Miami-based operation that habitually spread terror among the Cuban population, they (the messengers) were arrested and imprisoned. Their allegations, if fully investigated, could have brought to light and emphasized the long-standing illegitimacy and mean-spiritedness of U.S. policy towards Cuba.

The bottom line is that speaking out against one’s country – or more to the point, one’s country’s leaders and elite – is widely regarded as “unpatriotic” or even treasonable, terms that almost nobody wants applied to them.


Rationalizing the oligarchy

I believe that the most thought provoking portion of the book comes when Ben, much disturbed by Hort’s revelations to him, poses probing questions to him, and Hort responds by rationalizing:

Ben: I don’t understand. You just accept this?

Hort: I’m a realist, son.

Ben: You don’t want to fight it?

Hort: Maybe I would have if I’d been born fifty or seventy years earlier. But the establishment is bigger now, more entrenched… The leviathan only grows….

Ben: So there’s nothing that can be done.

Hort: No, there is, and that’s where you come in. The only possible solution is to manage this fucked-up system from the inside… Then, if someone within the oligarchy is abusing his position so much that it’s creating a problem for national security, we can quietly remove him, one way or the other…

Ben: Sounds like the mafia. With me as an enforcer.

Hort: You can call it that. I prefer to think of it as good management…. The Constitution, the Declaration of Independence… that’s all just window dressing now, the artifacts of an ancient mythology, the vestments of a dead religion. We need something different now, something suited for the modern world. We need realists, men like us. We are the change we’ve been waiting for….

You want a revolution? Chaos? Russia in 1917, China in 1949? Who knows what we’d wind up with in the aftermath? At least now we have order….

And besides, our oligarchy has a few things to recommend it. It’s open, for one. Look at me. Descended from slaves, and here I am, a member in good standing. Anyone can join. You just have to believe in it. You just have to pay your dues and follow the rules. That’s what we mean these days by “equality of opportunity” and a “meritocratic society”….

There’s always been an establishment, son. In every culture, every country. There’s always going to be someone on the inside, pulling the real levers of power and influence and profit. You want it to be moral men, like you and me? Or do you want it to be the (Dick Cheney’s) of the world? Because it’s going to be someone. That’s the only choice…

Comment
Hort’s contention that anyone can join the oligarchy is absurd. But the content of this discussion is highly relevant to Americans today. The rationalization that Hort provides for going along with the oligarchy is the same rationalization that people have been using for hundreds or thousands of years to justify those of their actions that threaten to make themselves feel guilty.

Yet, the solution is not at all self-evident. I face the problem myself, especially with regard to my job with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which I’ve written about previously. I am not at all proud of the organization I work for, which much too often in my opinion serves the interests of the corporations that they are supposed to regulate rather than those of the American people whom they are supposed to protect against those corporations. I can and do voice my opinions on these issues – but way too often to no avail.


It’s all right there in front of your eyes

Ben just can’t bring himself to condone Hort’s rationalizations of the oligarchy:

Ben: I’m honored. But I can’t work for this thing you call the oligarchy.

Hort: You’ve been working for it. You just didn’t know it…

Ben: You’re not worried I’m going to expose this?

Hort: You still don’t get it, do you? There’s nothing to expose. It’s all right there to see, for anyone who cares to look. But nobody does. And there’s nothing they could do anyway.

Comment
For those who don’t believe that our country is largely ruled by an oligarchy, consider the following figures from 2008, portrayed in Robert Kuttner’s “A Presidency in Peril”:

Goldman Sachs: Net earnings – $2.3 billion; Executive bonuses – $4.8 billion; Taxpayer funded TARP money – $10 billion

Morgan Stanley: Net earnings – $1.7 billion; Executive bonuses – $4.475 billion; Taxpayer funded TARP money – $10 billion

JP Morgan Chase: Net earnings – $5.6 billion; Executive bonuses – $8.69 billion; Taxpayer funded TARP money – $25 billion

Citigroup: Wrote off losses of $65 billion; Executive bonuses – $5.33 billion; Taxpayer funded TARP money – $45 billion

TARP and other mechanisms for bailing out irresponsible financial institutions was an outrage against the American people, not just because it involved huge cash flows from the American people to the financial institutions that were largely responsible for our current economic crisis, but because it did so with almost no strings attached. This arrangement was the responsibility of two American presidents – of both major political parties – and both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. The message we hear from our national media puts the responsibility for this outrage mostly or totally on the Democratic Party. That constitutes another outrage, and it is in large part driving the voter outrage that threatens to turn over at least one House of Congress to the Republican Party this fall. But it’s difficult for Democrats to defend themselves against this when most of them are just as responsible for this outrage as are the Republicans.


The oligarchy in a nutshell

On the last two pages of Barry Lynn’s book, “Cornered – The New Monopoly and the Economics of Destruction”, Lynn summarizes the crisis that the oligarchy (He doesn’t use that word) brought us to, and its solution. I’ll end this post by excerpting from those pages:

Today we face one of the gravest crises in our history, and I do not mean the recession… I speak instead of the political and economic effects of monopolization. And I speak of the fragility, due to monopolization, of all the systems on which we rely… We must recover our understanding of our institutions and the real intent of our laws. Then we must listen very closely to the words the patricians (i.e. the oligarchy) speak and beware.

They will preach their free-market fundamentalism and insist that we dare not interfere in the workings of this magical mechanism. Then they will use their corporations to enclose our open markets… to derange and sack our carefully engineered industrial systems.

They will preach their capitalism and insist that their corporations and banks are private property. Then they will use these social institutions to direct the power in this capital in ways that enable them to seize our own real private properties.

They will preach their libertarianism and (allege) through their attacks on our public government that they love freedom as much as we do. Yet the freedom they envision is for themselves alone, to use their private corporate governments – and sometimes our public governments – to rule us and ruin us.

They will preach their globalism and insist that we dare not interfere in the “free” flow of inter-nation trade… Then they will use their trading companies to crush American producers in order to chain us to authoritarian regimes abroad…

They will… insist that they alone – because they are “the best and brightest – understand the mysteries of capital, the mysteries of markets, the mysteries of trade, and the mysterious science of economics. Then they will jet off to mountain mansions and meadows as the systems they deranged collapse at our feet.

And they will, as they have since 1773… promise us yet more cheap tea for our liberty.

When we finally rise to put an end to their predations, our regulation must be simple and sure… Our regulation must follow the broad-ax tradition, which means that we must use our powers to split and split again the institutions they use to magnify their power.

[Starry Messenger]

1. k & r

Marking to read all through later.

[FirstLight]

2. I can't stand it...

...and the rest of us are eeeking out a life...i'm just so done fighting for a chance to have something for myself and my family, so very tired.

[pinboy3niner]

3. Are you sure you spelled that right?

But seriously, K&R and bookmarking.

[moonbatmax]

11. There's One Letter Missing

:rofl: Man, I will NEVER forget that one! :rofl:

[defendandprotect]

42. How could this idiot Glen Speck still be on TV ....? Who's watching him...???

[nightgaunt]

70. Millions listen to him on Reich wing monopoly radio

And on Fox Pac. Though lately even some of his have been questioning keeping him on as Lonesome Road's Beck is saying things more dangerous and more demented even for them.

[hunter]

4. The silly oligarchs forgot one thing...

The earth's biosphere supports you. Or it does not.

This civilization too will pass.

[RKP5637]

5. Yep, the oligarchs are making very unwise decisions in favor of short term

gain and long term loss of civilization, ejection by earth's biosphere.

[glitch]

14. These "best and brightest" believe they can game any system, even the most complex system of all

Earth.

Of course they are fools, empty vessels where that anxiety is self-medicated by an obsession with greed and power.

K & R

[defendandprotect]

43. Granted, patriarchy/capitalism are suicidal -- but they'll take all of us with them....

and possibily the planet, as well!

[nightgaunt]

71. NO matter what they do the planet will survive, we just may not

Even if it takes 10 million years for the earth to repair itself. But we won't even be a memory unless someone comes along intelligent enough to have some idea of what they find in the strata many millions of years later. Even if we had an all out nuclear war (still possible) something somewhere would survive to multiply and differentiate and evolve to replenish the earth.

[pnorman]

6. Eisler and that book had been mentioned a while back on DU, with great approval

I found the book at Audible.com, as well as some others by him. So I bought & downloaded most of them, and listened to them all. Not all appealed to me all that much, but that one did. It's about ready for a re-listen, so I'll do so pretty soon with the above in mind.

[waiting for hope]

7. K&R

Something else at work here, those PTB, they keep the masses in check with the hopes that they to can be a part of their system, but in reality, that could never happen. But the "American Dream" is dangled all bright and shiny, those who aspire do not see the rotten underside.

[txlibdem]

30. It's even more insidious than you describe

I've worked with a few multi-millionaires and the story is always the same. They flat out tell you that if you do their dirty work well enough you will be on path to be one of them. They take you to their mansion, show you the custom pools with waterfall, all the expensive cars they own. They actively go out of their way to make you believe that you will have a really good chance to enjoy that lifestyle as well. They weasel out of all project costs they can and most of the time you end up paying for things (but you tell yourself that it's going to come back to you and much much more). But in the end you get nothing except a kick in the ass to get you out the door. Then they move on to the next fool that they can take advantage of and then toss onto the trash pile.

The rich do not pay their taxes, then when they can't get out of it the hire a high priced lawyer and get a "settlement" with the IRS and end up paying a small percentage only.

That is how 99% of them got to be rich in the first place - by making someone else pay for their stuff and their costs. When it's done out of innocence that is one thing, when it is done time and time again and with malice of forethought then it is theft.

The rich are all thieves. Many of them are murderers. Most of them are felons (they just haven't been caught). These are the people we worship in this society?

[defendandprotect]

44. Behind all great wealth is great crime ....!!

[midsummer]

47. You are spot on

I've worked with them, too. Your description matches my own experience. Most are liars, cheats, thieves, felons, and yes, murderers. They also blacklist you to prevent you from revealing their secrets, most of which you don't know, but it's insurance for them in the event you find out later on.

They don't care who they destroy in their quest for more money and power.

Fortunately, I've met two in my life who were honest and decent. They gave me some hope for humanity.

Money is wonderful, it's greed that is the problem.

[txlibdem]

61. Money changes everything

Actually, it is not "money" that is wonderful it is the freedom and feeling of safety/security that having a lot of it can bring. In most of the European countries there are very robust social safety nets. Unemployed people receive the same salary they used to when working so they can continue to support their families without losing their home or draining their life savings. Universal healthcare ensure that no person gets into debt because they get sick or injured. If America had such systems in place we might not be such a money-driven society.

[dotymed]

60. +1000

:think:

[Odin2005]

8. K&R

[zenprole]

9. Time For A Change

Looks good & thanks for the info. Gotta check this out.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Jack London's The Iron Heel - the granddaddy of the genre.

[Greyhound]

10. Auto K&R. n/t

[glitch]

15. There should be a special DU feature: auto K & R personally prefered posters. :)

Or a personal page where all your own selected posters' posts would always appear automatically. A personal "Greatest" page. (maybe there already is and I just haven't seen it yet?)

[nashville_brook]

17. same here. Time For Change is a DU treasure.

[Karenina]

21. Ain't THAT the TRUTH! n/t

[HCE SuiGeneris]

24. I absolutely agree.

KnR

[Greyhound]

25. Happy to concur, and kick it again.

:hi:

[TheUnspeakable]

12. k&r-it is out in the open....

and yet most refuse to see....

[HughMoran]

13. Interesting reading

I would advise against using the term "oligarchy" since 1) it implies (by historical example) a tyranny that most all people will say does not exist here and 2) many people think of places like Russia when this term is used - not a comparison that will endear to many Americans. The word is a dog whistle on DU to certain people, but I'd suggest that a majority of people find it to be a turn-off. Plutocracy may be a better term, though I personally find it nearly as annoying (as it's another remote-use pejorative.) If the terms used turn people off, people are much less likely to take the time to read or comprehend the piece. Since people in the US like to think of themselves as a unique experiment in history, I suggest a unique new term needs to be created. A simple combination word like corporatocracy is more accurate in my opinion, though corporatism/corporatist is overused here. Let's come up with a unique term for the US. :)

[nashville_brook]

16. i think the point of using a word like Oligarchy is to expose the tyranny the some say doesn't exist

but i'm sure there's many other ways of saying it. there's also Kleptocracy. Robber Barons. Fat Cats. Racketeers. and, my favorite "you are being lied to."

[Greyhound]

26. I found it especially ironic that just as this piece comes out, the Pelosi thread,

where she warns that that's what the republiks want to happen, as if it doesn't already exist and she & her husband were not a part of it.

[nightgaunt]

72. The oligarchy sums it up nicely

The aristocracy does exist even though they don't wear the kind of elegance not easily seen. Most of them shun or greatly control what gets out about them. They have the clout to do that. We don't know how many of them believe in the Dominionist Christian idea that if you are well off it means you are blessed, and if you are not then likewise with how god has judged you. For them they are blessed to such an extent that they consider themselves absolved from any sin they may do toward putting the earth into a condition conducive to the Immanitazation of the Eschaton back on earth. The throne they have empty set aside as a reminder of what is their motivation, their Holy Mission. (Along with making sure that the "strong" get the resources they need, slaves, wealth and conversions of the rest of the earth under their domination. Only when that is done can they expect their god to return to earth and not before. They may think they have 1,000 years to get the job done. I can't be sure.)

[Time for change]

19. I don't feel inclined to sugar coat these things by using words that most people are likely to feel

comfortable with. Nor do I feel inclined to use words that further the belief that the United States is so uniquely good.

The truth is that this is a very ugly and dangerous situation. I don't believe that there is any good way to sugar coat it and still maintain accuracy.

Your point is a good one that it is important to write in ways that don't turn people off, so that they're more likely to read what we write and take it seriously.

But I believe that can be taken only so far without losing the ability to make an impact. I think it's very important not to exaggerate. But sugar coating things can be counter-productive IMO.

[HughMoran]

23. Plutocracy or Corporatocracy are "sugar coated"

I disagree - but I appreciate that you read and understood what I was attempting to share. A message properly delivered will indeed be well received by a larger audience - change will only come when enough are convinced that corporations are indeed not loyal to the country and don't give a crap if they employ Americans or Transylvanians.

[Time for change]

38. I guess I wasn't very clear on this particular point

No, I don't particularly think that plutocracy or corporatocracy are "sugar coated". I've used the term corporatocracy myself, to describe the same thing. In fact, the only reason I used a slightly different term this time is that "Oligarchy" is the term used in Eisler's book, which I was commenting upon. What I meant to say was that if we purposely choose terms because they are inoffensive to our audience, our writing may lose some of its impact. But then again, as I also said, you have a valid point that we don't want to turn people off to the point where they are unlikely to listen to what we have to say.

So we're dealing with competing issues. Where to draw the line? My inclination is to simply use what I consider to be the most accurate term (though in this case, as I said, I used oligarchy because that was the term that Eisler used).

[ooglymoogly]

34. +1 + How bout Crimenocracy, Thugocracy, Lunocracy, Mafiocracy

insanitocracy, Stupidocracy, Corporate fascism; self immolating and Deadly form of fascism.

FDR had it just about right. The only proven form of government that works for all the people including the rich....Its called Democracy.

[rhett o rick]

36. First let me say thank you for posting. I fully agree that the situation is dire and it looks.

like we live in an oligarchy or one of the other suggested terms. As you said the terms used need to be such to provide the impact you desire. I think this is a very important issue. Who are you writing this OP for? I think most here can handle oligarchy. But this information needs to be promulgated to a greater audience. The problem is how. We need a media outlet. We need a propaganda machine.

[Overseas]

18. K&R! //nt

[G_j]

20. it is a blessing to have posts of this caliber

thank you for continuing to contribute. We have had a bit of a brain drain.
Thanks again!

[dotymed]

22. Raising a child in our country, and most others,

is so complex. It is the age old question that we too asked (and still do), WHY?
Trying to explain things to your son/daughter, without turning them in to a "conspiracy theorist" is a tightrope, especially as they get older.

A question for all of us indoctrinated adults, WHEN will "we finally rise to put an end to their predations?"
Better yet, HOW?

[defendandprotect]

45. Our Founders understood "conspiracy" ... including "conspiracy" from within ... why

would that be so difficult for us to understand and deal with now?

What was FDR referring to -- or others of our US presidents who pointed to

unwarranted elite/corporate power?

[Larry Ogg]

27. It seems that this "enlightened" world view

is finding its way into the minds of more and more people...

And I agree...

Who controls what is not exactly in plain sight, and for that reason I almost always refer to our Democracy as an illusion or pretend democracy that benefits the predator class at the expense of the working class. There is also a lot that is hiding in plain sight, even if most people don't see it as such; such as our criminal banking system, empirical foreign policy and the use of religious ideology and states as justification to murder millions of people so their lands and resources can be stolen. Of course this is all explained to us by our venal politicians who have placed a prohibition on truth and would not have us believe our eyes and ears if our lives depended on it, and we know how much humans love to blindly trust the leaders who will sell them out to the highest predator bidder.

But wait a minute...

When the illusion of how great things are can no longer be sustained because it defies reality, cognitive dissonance can at times have a positive effect on some people and cause them to trust their senses correctly. Unfortunately it can also cause others to be devoted followers of Joe the teabag movement. Gee how convenient for the PTB/Oligarch/Predator class is that? It's like their taking what Hitler said to the bank, along with our faith in phony money, "What luck for rulers that men don't think." But I'm sure they know that Hitler was only partially right, still, good enough reason to tank the economy and then rally the stupid class to their defense.

Which reminds me...

Did I say thank you conservative nut job wackos for your expertise in the deliberate dumbing down of America? Or maybe I should blame it on Darwin for coining the phrase "Survival of the fittest"; that had to scare the hell out of you republican shit for brains who decided to try and prove him wrong... What ever it takes to steal elections right? Because you sure in the fuck couldn't win one...

Which leads to my conclusion...

People are waking up today, there will be more waking up tomorrow and the next, the future will be guided by conscience, not delusional psychotic conservatives, and the elite predator class banksters and warmongers will reign no more...

K&R
Larry

[Time for change]

37. I think that's the key, Larry

People waking up. Their control over bast numbers of people rests on keeping critical numbers of them ignorant. That's why they put so much effort into keeping us misinformed.

[clarence swinney]

28. Phil Gramn Nut job

Said Roosevelt had zero to do with recovery
Democrats fault they do not attack junk--in advance

GDP and Jobs had big growth 1932-1937
Yes! Big economic gain was certainly WWII.

Phil gave us Bank--1999--Bank change. Big Banks then bought up most local banks. Deja Vu S&L Disaster.
Today Phil's Big Banks own 80% total bank deposits.
Wall Street of America--Replaced Main Street of America.
Phil's pals gave us Housing Disaster one of largest in our history. Millions of families hurt badly for many years.
Destroying Construction industry.

Phil 2000 Financial Wall Street of America to become
Casino Derivative Of America.

Rich Investors jumped into gambling from investing in stocks And building businesses And jobs.

PROOF------------
1990s were boom years with 237,00,000 net new jobs gained per month. Unemployment as low as 3.9%=Full Employment

After 2000 Law
31,000 Net New Jobs per month over 8 years. Lowest since Hoover
Ever hear a Democrat attack on this????? Obama?
Dow was 11,720 in 2000. 10,700 now ten years later. Democrat attack on it???
S&P lost 30% of value.
GDP growth was from Housing Debacle and Bush increase in spending by 100% and borrowing 6000B from China. Democrat attack on it???

No Value Added. Velocity of money went south
It was Gambling. Pass one billion from one hand another hand
A Winner=A Loser.

It was a horrible ten years for America's Middle Class.
Little Income Growth--- Little Wealth Growth--- Large Debt Growth
2001-2009 Top 1% (1,400,000) took 67% of Total Individual Income Increase. 90% took 10%. Third World Country Stats????? Democrat attack on it???
In 2008 top 1% owned 43% of Total Financial Wealth
80% owned 7% (120,000,000workers)
Third World Country Stats Democrat attack on it?????

Reagan + Bush gave, primarily, the Top 1% 2500B in tax Cuts.
They borrowed 7700B to pay for it. Democrat attack on it???

From 1980 to 2009 that 1% had a 281% Gain in Income
Middle Class got 25% a Third World Country Distribution
Democrat attack on it???

First Decade of 21st Worst Decade since 1920's

DEMOCRATS AWAKEN-Remove the mufflers- TELL THE PEOPLE dumb or no guts?

100% FAULT OF REPUBLICANS POLICIES OF WALL STREET OF aMERICA
100% 100% 100% NUMBERS SAY IT NO QUESTION FACTS SAY IT NO QUESTION

clarence swinney
olduglymeanhonest mad mad mad mad
political historian-Lifeaholics of America since 1991

[KoKo]

53. Well Clarence...you certainly have an interesting "counter" to the OP..

But, some links to support your view agains the "OP" would be appreciated.

[moondust]

29. Why go through the motions of democracy

if we end up with a (feudal) oligarchy anyway?

[Larry Ogg]

32. The peon class is much more cooperative under the illusion of Democracy,

and the really cool part is that they actually convince themselves that they are not slaves.

[awoke_in_2003]

68. Why?...

they remember what France 1789 looked like.

[colsohlibgal]

31. Bizarro World

The wealthy/powerful corporate/military puppeteers (DDE your paranoia about this was sadly dead on) mostly control the message (even MSNBC has areas they won't go into depth on though Ratigan comes closest to getting to the core) and now even more ominously the voting apparatus. And now they can spend as much as they want to elect their stooges to congress and such thanks to the Roberts Supreme Court. Funny that once in control there Robets and his wing of the court had little trouble being activists.

Notice how quickly they led public consciousness to fault the exit polls in the Kerry Bush elections, rather than the actual vote. I worked that 2004 election and I know Kerry won in actuality.

The only thing they can't yet control is the internet but they're working on it.

[defendandprotect]

41. Too many people are still watching corporate-news .... believe their TVs...!!

[felix_numinous]

33. K & R

I have been saying since GWB got in office that Americans were simply being robbed, which has and does make quite a few people uncomfortable. People do not want to hear this, it sounds too much like the rantings of a conspiracy nut. Over the years I have tempered my talk, by pointing out that there are good people in every field, people who are doing their best with what they have, and we need to stay engaged in elections to assure that enough of them stay in office. What we are all up against is outrage fatigue, people are saturated, anxious and they shut down, not to mention the misinformation.

Institutionalization is a process by which ideals are used to keep people loyal to a school of thought, and we have all been institutionalized to some degree. It is this conditioning that is creating so much resistance by blinding people to the flaws in the system. People mistake their ideals for the institutions that are supposed to represent those ideals. (For the most part, people on the left are able to see through their conditioning, which to me marks a free thinker and progressive). So by calling out these institutions, the military, healthcare institutions, and political parties in ways that character assassinate, the message gets lost since it is taken to the bone by people who have been totally assimilated into these groups, their identities are enmeshed. The art of separating assimilated people from their conditioning is very tricky, the photographs from Viet Nam, the Watergate Hearings, the assassinations of beloved people tested many people's sense of identity in the past, but today there is so much more conditioning. The machine is fueled on beliefs, and fairy tales, to reinforce people's loyalty, identity and in fact endearment to those that actually oppress them, the oligarchy.

The most important message in all of this IMHO, is that what is happening, not only to America but internationally, goes beyond partisan politics, and is the ultimate challenge of the 21st century. The oligarchy, or whatever you want to call the consolidated powers, is growing exponentially. Their biggest lie is that money has 'disappeared', it hasn't--it has merely changed hands. Getting this message out is a matter of life and death of our Republic, and it is a study in itself to learn how to communicate it effectively not only to the people on the left, but ultimately to people on the right.

The institutions must be split, church and state, military and corporate, corporate and political, power utilities and banks, and the corrupt relationships between all of them. This is an ancient fight, the rich classes passing on their dominance to subsequent generations to hold onto their resources and influence, and the brutality that results. They absolutely must be kept in check.

This was another stimulating post TFC!

[Time for change]

39. Thank you -- Yes, we are being robbed

Getting people to understand that -- and HOW -- is a good part of battle, and a necessary first step.

[Larry Ogg]

59. I enjoyed reading you post...

And I think you have a deep understanding of what plagues humanity; I couldn't agree more with the comments you posted, you should turn on you journal and save your post so others can reference your views.

I often tell people about how the elite predator class (aka Oligarchs) hide behind the facade of philanthropy so as they can own or control our institutions of learning, aka indoctrination, referring to the graduates as institutionalized, so we are definitely on the same page when it comes to that…

I am cautious to understand that even if we could vote the criminal puppets out of office and remove them from other positions of power, the salary and hourly employees that where appointed and hired by the influence of predators to run the government, factories, marketplaces, schools, social institutions etc..., has been programmed to operate within specific paradigms of thought that are predatory to one degree or another. Thus the entire society has been programmed to live out of context with nature, at odds with their neighbor and servants to the predator class. Do we know what it’s like to be human anymore; can we remember if given a chance? I would like to believe that the good in people of conscience is inherent and they will find a way, but it’s going to require a paradigm shift in how we view each other as well as those whom we elect as leaders.

This will be, imho, the biggest task humanity has ever taken, and we are but on the edge of a new understanding, an understanding of ourselves and of those who believe it is their right to be our masters, and if people of conscience learn the truth about the values of character, the virtues of conscience will expose those who have none as the depraved nature of evil that has plagued the human race from its very beginning. If we get this right we will have earned the right to be free, and if we fail we may loose the right to exist…

[ooglymoogly]

35. KR nt

[defendandprotect]

40. Basically we're dealing with a Mafia like sturcture ... except the guys in suits are the criminals..

It's going to take many people willing to give up their lives to overturn this

pyramid of crime and corruption which has taken our "people's" government from us

and corrupted all of its agencies.

Look to Italy as an example in this war --

The American public has long been conditioned to believe that its top leaders and the policies they pursue, though often imperfect and misguided, are never ill intended. This conditioning is enforced by constant repetition from most of our politicians and the media who support them. Challenging that view generally results in marginalization, scorn, condemnation, ridicule, and a wide array of epithets such as “Communist” or “conspiracy theorist”. Worse, it can result in various punishments such as the loss of one’s job or worse. For example, in 1998, when five Cubans provided the FBI with proof of a Miami-based operation that habitually spread terror among the Cuban population, they (the messengers) were arrested and imprisoned. Their allegations, if fully investigated, could have brought to light and emphasized the long-standing illegitimacy and mean-spiritedness of U.S. policy towards Cuba.

The bottom line is that speaking out against one’s country – or more to the point, one’s country’s leaders and elite – is widely regarded as “unpatriotic” or even treasonable, terms that almost nobody wants applied to them.

Think this reluctance to see the reality of government infects those whose trust in government

was cemented by the "good war." But it is correct that much of this baloney is kept in place

by repetition.

We need individual BS-meters to get turned up way higher -- and more and more TVs to be turned off!!



.

[DeSwiss]

46. Of course, it has always been thus. - K&R

The reality is that institutional establishments, institutions of codified thought, and institutions of societal influence and power, meaning philosophies, dogmas on one hand and corporations and governments on the other, each have a high propensity to engage in denial, dishonesty, and corruption to maintain self-preservation and self-perpetuation. The result is a continuous culture lag where social progress by way of incorporating new socially-helpful scientific advancements is constantly inhibited. It is like walking through a brick wall as the established power orthodoxies continue to perpetuate themselves for their own interests and comforts.

The profit mechanism creates established orders which constitute the survival and wealth for a few groups of people. The fact is that no matter how socially beneficial new advents may be, they will be viewed in hostility if they threaten an established financially-driven institution. Meaning social progress can be a threat to the establishment. So to put this into a sentence: "Abundance, sustainability and efficiency are the enemies of profit."

Progressive advancement in science and technology which can solve problems of inefficiency and scarcity once and for all, are in effect making the prior establishment's servicing of those issues obsolete. Therefore in a monetary system corporations aren't just in competition with each other, they're in competition with progress itself. That is why social-change is so difficult within a monetary system. In other words, the established monetary system refuses to allow free-flowing change.

Today we use paper proclamations to denote a person's so-called 'rights.' And just like laws, they are culturally biased, artificial concoctions which attempt to solve recurring problems by simply declaring something with words on paper. Rights, in fact, have been invented to protect ourselves from the negative byproducts of the social system itself. And once again instead of seeking a true solution to a problem, we invent these patches by way of paper proclamations in an attempt to resolve them. This does not work. It has never worked. There is really no such thing as an inalienable right outside of the culture in which it is assumed. We are making this up. Therefore liberties need to be inherent in a social system by design not alluded to ambiguously on paper.

In the Bill of Rights of the United States, there is an attempt to secure certain freedoms and protections by way of mere text on paper. Now while I understand the value of this document and the temporal brilliance of it in the context of the period of its creation, that does not excuse the fact that it is a product of social inefficiency and nothing more. Declarations of laws and rights are actually an acknowledgment of the failures of the social design.

There is no such thing as 'rights' - as the reference can be altered at will. The fourth amendment is an attempt to protect against state power abuse, that is clear. But it avoids the real issue, and that is: Why would the state have an interest to search and seize to begin with? How do you remove the mechanisms that generate such behavior? We need to focus on the real cause.

I’m not saying that laws and rights are not needed at this time. They certainly are. But we need to hone our focus toward solving the actual problems. And by the way for all the nationalists out there, I'm not attacking the US Constitution. However, it's not the answer. It's naive to think that this document has that much relevance. I am a fan of people like Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinch, I believe that there is a place for the work that they do. But it's not the answer. The history of America is just like the history of every other country on this planet: It is a history of deception, fraud and corruption. There is nothing to 'return to' for the integrity was never there to begin with. We must move forward, not backwards.

We have to understand that government as we know it today, is not in place for the well being of the public, but rather for the perpetuation of their establishment and their power. Just like every other institution within a monetary system. Government is a monetary invention for the sake of economic and social control and its methods are based upon self-preservation, first and foremost. All a government can really do is to create laws to compensate for an inherent lack of integrity within the social order.

In society today the public is essentially kept distracted and uninformed. This is the way that governments maintain control. If you review history, power is maintained through ignorance. ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPmHaTirnCc">Peter Joseph

[Uncle Joe]

48. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the review, Time for change.

[Octafish]

49. It's not fiction. The oligarchs use war to make money and keep control.

Thank you for another excellent post, Time for Change.

Here's a bit I've done on the subject of oligarchs or oiligarchy I call the BFEE or War Party. In service of the elite, they "make" money and move it offshore:

Know your BFEE: War and Oil are just two longtime Main Lines of Business



Know your BFEE: Phil Gramm, the Meyer Lansky of the War Party, Set-Up the Biggest Bank Heist Ever.

Really appreciate all you do, Time for Change. You understand what a differet world this could be.

[Time for change]

62. Thank you Octafish -- It's outrageous, isn't it?

So many dots to connect, and so little time to do it, and so much missing information!

Yes, it could be a different world, and I know there is a solution, but I just don't know what it is.

[puebloknot]

50. K&R Saving for later scrutiny, but scanning quickly, you've done it again ...

... with a piece not to be missed.

Thanks.

[rhett o rick]

51. I believe we do live in an oligarchy. I also believe there is some organization involved.

Things are working too smooth for the masters without some kind of organization and rules. Someone told Bush/Cheney to step down quietly in 2008. But who?

[Time for change]

63. Sometimes I think that

they wanted Obama as president, rather than McCain or any other Republicn. Their advantage is that he provides the illusion of change, progressiveness, etc. etc. The RW noise machine even causes many people to think that we're moving towards socialism.

[KoKo]

52. Thanks for the work you did pulling this together.

It's worth the read even to dig deeper into the links....

K&R

[sabrina 1]

54. Excellent piece, thank you ~

In many ways we are back to what the Founding Fathers fought against. We have royalty here in the U.S. We just don't use all the symbolism, the crowns etc. But how long before even the pretense of democracy is gone?

They still must have some fear of rousing up the public to continue with the pretext that the people have any say in anything that goes on.

Does it really matter who is in power, other than one side throws a few crumbs our way now and then? A question I've been asking myself since we gained a majority in 2006 and the goalposts moved, then moved again afer we gave them both Houses of Congress and the WH, and not much happened.

K&R for a great post.

[Time for change]

64. Thank you -- Of course it matters who the president is

But we need a real liberal/progressive as president, not someone who uses progressive rhetoric from time to time but on the major issues goes along with the oligarchy. As long as the pretext of democracy exists, protest is kep to a minimum, so they mean to keep that going for as long as possible, even if it means taking a step backwards now and then.

[OnyxCollie]

55. K&R. nt

[rhett o rick]

56. This is a serious issue. Many of us are convinced that we live under an oligarchy. The question is

what do we do about it? Granted they have unlimited resources, but I believe there are a lot of us that are willing to fight to the last. But we need a leader, a strategy, and tactics. Is there anyone stepping forward to do this?

[Time for change]

65. I haven't seen anyone doing this

We have some very good congresspersons, but no indication that they will run for president. I think we need someone to do that. It would be a very courageous decision to do that.

[Warren Stupidity]

57. kicked so more can share my despair nt

[bertman]

58. Power and Profits trump everything else. An excellent post. REC.

As several posters have mentioned already, the arrogance of the oligarchs/plutocrats/elites--whatever you want to call them, is going to be OUR and our fellow oxygen-breathing creatures' undoing.

By happenstance I picked up an old issue of Rolling Stone magazine (May 27, 2010) while I was waiting to get my haircut. Flipping through the usual profiles of rock n roll stars--the Stones making Exile on Main Street--I stopped to read an article entitled "Will global warming, overpopulation, floods, droughts and food riots MAKE THIS MAN RICH? Meet the New Capitalists of Chaos"

The article documents one international 'investor's' efforts to secure huge tracts of arable land in the Sudan. But it's really a primer on how nations and global financial entities are buying up prime farmland in areas of the world that are forecast to be largely negatively unaffected by the climate change disaster that is underway. Chief among the 'investors' are China, Saudia Arabia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, India.

The plan is to intensively farm these areas and sell the food to the locals--so they can be the slave labor for the owners, I presume--as well as to the highest bidders on the international market. The underlying theme is that famine, starvation, and agricultural collapse in many areas of the world will drive the price of food to all-time highs. And, of course, where there is profit to be made, there the sharks will gather.

Perhaps these investors realize that organic farming is the way to go in order to preserve the viability of what arable land will be left. I doubt it though, as the main character in this article declares that technology can be used to push out more food. He thinks people will panic, especially those who have no land on which to grow food. So, out of this, the investor has decided that he can become rich beyond most of our wildest dreams.

Whoever authorized using the Homo Sapiens moniker needs to be flogged.

[Time for change]

66. That makes sense

Some people say that they are fools because as they destroy the earth they too will suffer. But with enough money they intend to ensure that while the vast majority of humanity suffers they will be able to maintain or even improve upon their current life style. And I believe they can do that for the rest of their lives -- unless the outrage factor becomes high enough to stop them.

[Larry Ogg]

67. If the concept holds true, which I believe that it does...

that our political system resembles more of an Oligarch than it does a Democracy; then it would also hold true, or might I say, bares witness to the facts, that our elected officials are nothing more than Union Stewards who negotiate deals with the owner/rulers?

This would explain the claims that the insurance companies, the banking industry, Wall Street etc. have overly influenced or written the laws by which they are allegedly governed.

[howaboutme]

69. Thanks - If only Americans were more in tune with

the really important issues and the reality of our nation being hijacked by the essence of greed and more for a few.

It is sad that too many Americans serve as puppets to be led around by the media pundits and political interests (i.e. the PTB). The PTB use regularly scheduled ideological issues to keep the masses fired up and the interests of the serfs off the real ball, while their cronies are conniving on how to steal power and our treasure. Actually there isn't much treasure left so now they are using public debt and our public assets as their gain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q

They are oligarchs here just as they are in Russia, and they will end up owning what was ours as a country, while our assets as a people will become the people's debt. This is more than political incompetence, it is about corruption and cronyism.