Why Some Prefer Oligarchy and (🎶 What's Russia got to do, got to do with it? 🎶)

[Nevilledog]

https://terikanefield.com/why-some-prefer-oligarchy/

*snip*

How (and why) the Republican-Russian partnership came about

The Republicans hated the former Soviet Union because, in the former Soviet Union, the government owned all the nation’s resources and industries. The Republicans believe all (or almost all) resources and industries should be privatized.

When the Soviet Union broke up, the Russian Federation was established as a constitutional republic, but before democracy (and rule of law) could take hold, there was a wild rush to control (grab) the nation’s industries and resources. The people who successfully grabbed the resources and industries became billionaires. These new billionaires then hand-picked the nation’s leaders. (If you control everything, you can do that.)

The new Russian billionaires are usually called oligarchs, but basically they’re gangsters who got rich by stealing.

Now that a few wealthy people own all of Russia’s resources and pull the strings behind the scenes, lots of Republicans feel differently about Russia.

One way to understand people like Peter Thiel and Paul Ryan is that they believe a few wealthy people should control the nation’s resources and industries and they believe these billionaires should be able to pull the political strings. They offer a few theories for why this is good and sensible. One theory is the “makers and takers” theory which holds that a few clever people drive the economy with their innovation and business brilliance. These “makers” create jobs and wealth for a lower class of people called “takers,” who are generally depicted as lazy and immoral. The trickle-down theory similarly holds that if you remove regulations and let clever people do their thing without limitations, they will create wealth and jobs for everyone.

*snip*

[gab13by13]

1. The United States

is honestly an oligarchy right now.

[Irish_Dem]

4. The US has been an oligarchy for quite sometime.

People are just now realizing it.

[Kid Berwyn]

10. Academia tried to make a case, but, you know.

Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 September 2014
Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page

Abstract

Each of four theoretical traditions in the study of American politics—which can be characterized as theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy, Economic-Elite Domination, and two types of interest-group pluralism, Majoritarian Pluralism and Biased Pluralism—offers different predictions about which sets of actors have how much influence over public policy: average citizens; economic elites; and organized interest groups, mass-based or business-oriented.

SNIP...

Who governs? Who really rules? To what extent is the broad body of U.S. citizens sovereign, semi-sovereign, or largely powerless? These questions have animated much important work in the study of American politics.

While this body of research is rich and variegated, it can loosely be divided into four families of theories: Majoritarian Electoral Democracy, Economic-Elite Domination, and two types of interest-group pluralism—Majoritarian Pluralism, in which the interests of all citizens are more or less equally represented, and Biased Pluralism, in which corporations, business associations, and professional groups predominate. Each of these perspectives makes different predictions about the independent influence upon U.S. policy making of four sets of actors: the Average Citizen or “median voter,” Economic Elites, and Mass-based or Business-oriented Interest Groups or industries.

SNIP...

The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence. Our results provide substantial support for theories of Economic-Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism, but not for theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy or Majoritarian Pluralism.

Continues...

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B

[KPN]

11. And that was in 2014. It's not just worse now. It's far

worse. But I do think we are at a potential turning point … Biden’s Infrastructure Investment Act, student debt relief — such as it is and recent labor advances. The Democratic Party gets it (finally — been waiting 40 years for economic policy awakening myself) and so do more snd more of the voters. I think we will see power shifting more and more away from the oligarchs to mass organizations of economically average people . Maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part, but I see reason for optimism and tend to think not.

[moondust]

2. K/R

[KPN]

3. Excellent piece. Wish we saw more of this sort of thing in the media. We all know that

greed and arrogance fuel the "conservative" attack on the New Deal and liberal economics, but seldom do we see an article that point blank makes the case so well.

[Irish_Dem]

6. Maybe the pundits are waking up.

[Irish_Dem]

5. Power and greed.

The oligarchs and corrupt politicians want permanent power and access to all US financial assets.
For power and wealth they will destroy democracy and rule of law.

[orthoclad]

7. Worldwide club

Putin, Zuckerberg, Trump, Musk -- all members of the club. And we're not.

[lame54]

8. Cash

[patphil]

9. So a few ultra rich people control all the business and wealth of the nation, and hand pick the leaders.

The rest of the population gets to experience the "crumbs from the table" lifestyle of the poor and powerless.
And the Republicans love it!
That life is better under a strong leader is the sucker deal the Republicans have so far successfully sold to their base.
The Republicans have sold the idea that life would be better if all those people their base doesn't like were somehow removed from the picture, and that conformity translates into security.
Of course by the time they realize that all the things they take for granted in the US would soon be gone in an authoritarian state, it would be too late to get them back.
The guns they love, and the freedom of movement and action they now enjoy, would be among the first to go.

A strong leader requires weak followers to insure his position.

[FakeNoose]

12. Recommended reading: Red Notice by Bill Browder

This book tells the story of Russia and how it evolved out of the Soviet Union into the crazy Putin-controlled oligarchy that it quickly became. Bill Browder was there in Moscow as an investment banker, almost from the getgo. Mr. Browder has a very interesting story to tell. If you've heard of the Magnitsky sanctions and wondered what that was all about, it's carefully explained in this book. He also authored a second book "Freezing Order," but I recommend that you start with "Red Notice."

It's not a difficult book, but it will shock the shit out of most Americans. That's all I can say. Mr. Browder also has a video or two posted on Youtube, I believe he gave interviews to British or American reporters. For his own safety he never reveals his whereabouts, since he gave up his American citizenship over 20 years ago. He's living somewhere in Great Britain now. Putin's agents are everywhere.