Chris Hedges — The Dominion Of The Uber-Rich Agency Tyranny Or Revolution

It is essential to empathize the pathologies of the uber-rich. They create got seized total political power.…

The uber-rich alive inward an artificial bubble, a reason called Richistan, a house of Frankenmansions too person jets, cutting off from our reality.... 

Political theorists, from Aristotle too Karl Marx to Sheldon Wolin, create got warned against the dominion of the uber-rich. Once the uber-rich accept over, Aristotle writes, the precisely options are tyranny too revolution.…

Corporate capitalism, which has destroyed our democracy, has given unchecked ability to the uber-rich. And in 1 lawsuit nosotros empathize the pathologies of these oligarchic elites, it is slow to nautical chart our future. The state apparatus the uber-rich controls right away alone serves their interests. They are deaf to the cries of the dispossessed. They empower those institutions that proceed us oppressed—the safety too surveillance systems of domestic control, militarized police, Homeland Security too the military—and gut or degrade those institutions or programs that blunt social, economical too political inequality, amid them world education, wellness care, welfare, Social Security, an equitable taxation system, nutrient stamps, world transportation too infrastructure, too the courts. The uber-rich extract greater too greater sums of coin from those they steadily impoverish. And when citizens object or resist, they rhythm out or kill them....

The uber-rich, every bit Karl Polanyi wrote, celebrate the worst sort of freedom—the liberty “to exploit one’s fellows, or the liberty to brand inordinate gains without commensurable service to the community, the liberty to proceed technological inventions from beingness used for world benefit, or the liberty to turn a profit from world calamities secretly engineered for person advantage.” At the same time, every bit Polanyi noted, the uber-rich brand state of war on the “freedom of conscience, liberty of speech, liberty of meeting, liberty of association, liberty to guide one’s ain job.”…

We volition repudiate these pathologies too organize to forcefulness the uber-rich from ability or they volition transform us into what they already catch us to be—the help....

Not that this is anything new. The Enlightenment was the initiative of all successful endeavour to modify the historical tendency of dominion past times dominant alpha-males over the submissive rest, fifty-fifty though the residuum are the vast bulk too render the alphas amongst what they glean from exploitation through power.

However, Enlightenment liberalism precisely attacked feudalism too sought to supplant it past times bourgeois liberalism, the "bourgeoisie" beingness the owners of capital, both reason too technology, every bit the agency of production. patch Adam Smith was aware of this, Karl Marx analyzed it inward item too concluded that the options were revolution or acquiescence inward tyranny, at to the lowest degree until or too therefore other manner of production replaced capitalism, amongst no guarantee that the alphas would non nonetheless last dominant.

The telephone substitution questions are whether the alphas tin dismiss last bridled past times the establishment of commonwealth every bit authorities of the people, past times the people, too for the people. The prior enquiry hither is how that could last accomplished against the volition too interests of the dominant ruling class.  There is likewise the enquiry whether the "masses" could effectively principle themselves inward a socialistic system. Prior sense suggests that or too therefore other dominant elite would seize power.

So patch Chris Hedges rant is rousing, it leaves major issues upwardly inward the air. What happens later the revolution, if at that topographic point is one? Marx left that enquiry rather upwardly inward the air. The American colonists handled it pretty well, patch the French didn't create was well. However, the colonists were left to themselves patch the French were struggling amongst a longstanding tradition. Even amongst the wages of novel beginning, America experienced a civil state of war earlier reaching its initiative of all centennial.

On the other hand, Chris Hedges is right too fifty-fifty downplays the actual threat somewhat. The existent threat right away is transnational corporate totalitarianism beingness imposed globally. Such is the intent of the American Empire.

This was the intent of Rome too Rome was quite successful inward doing it ruthlessly. With the Enlightenment behind us, the US is to a greater extent than restricted inward carrying that out every bit ruthlessly, at to the lowest degree inward a obvious way. So right away the hidden agenda is cloaked inward an Enlightenment agenda of spreading liberty too democracy, defending human rights, exporting prosperity, too culturing enlightened Western values too the American way globally.

What could teach wrong?

TruthDig

The Rule of the Uber-Rich Means Tyranny or Revolution
Chris Hedges

See also

Project Syndicate
America’s Plutocrats Are Winning

Jeffrey D. Sachs | Professor of Sustainable Development too Professor of Health Policy too Management at Columbia University, too Director of Columbia’s Center for Sustainable Development too of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

See also

Nation of Change
An Arena Full of the Richest Americans Would Own As Much Wealth every bit 70% of the World

Paul Buchheit / NationofChange / Op-Ed