Not really big on conspiracies but...

[captain queeg]

Last edited Mon Dec 18, 2017, 02:19 AM - Edit history (1)

Since joining DU I’m beginning to become more and more aware of the rise of a new aristocracy.

It’s been trending that way for years but they’ve become more and more blatant about protecting the rich class. Starting with that Supreme Court decision to give corporations the same rights as citizens the deck is becoming more and more stacked to protect the rich leading towards a permanent aristocracy. The executive branch is obviously effected, Which gives them control of a permanent military, and they now employ an army of lawyers to silence the press, and are now assaulting congress and the courts, thus even the police. The founding fathers did their best to protect the citizenship but could not foresee how modern technology would allow this. Seems like this trend is particularly pronounced in the US. Other world democracies modeled after the US constitution seem to be resisting more so far.

Not necessarily a organized conspiracy, just the natural inclinations of the rich I think.

[Laffy Kat]

1. Welcome to DU.

[secondwind]

2. You may have something there.

Welcome to DU!

[pbmus]

3. This is the kkk...kleptocratic kakistrophic klusterf....

[Binkie The Clown]

4. People always look out for their own self-interest, but...

...the very wealthy are better equipped to influence matters to their own advantage. If any one of us knew we could get a better deal from the government by making a phone call, I'm sure we would do it too. It's not that they are evil, it's that when they want something, they have the power and influence to actually make it happen, and so they do.

[TDale313]

7. Youre way, way more generous than I am.

The level of greed and class warfare on the poor and middle class we’re seeing right now is disgusting and yeah- I would say evil. They’re literally willing to let people die or go hungry to fill their own coffers. We are seeing a huge redistribution of wealth upwards at the expense of the most vulnerable. There is no empathy, no looking out for the common good. And the huge majority of us have literally no voice or representation because we can’t write million dollar donation checks. This needs to be reversed.

[Garrett78]

8. That isn't actually true. Homo Economicus is a myth.

It's a myth (one promoted by the likes of Ayn Rand) that everyone makes their own self-interest a priority. Besides, what is in one's "self-interest" is fairly subjective.

But I'm pretty well convinced that those who are drawn to positions of power (CEOs, politicians, etc.) are disproportionately sociopathic and narcissistic.

[captain queeg]

11. True in a general kind of way

But I see some politicians standing against the proposed taxes and health care bill. Not nearly enough however and the republican trend to sell there souls is very troubling. Combine that with many efforts to silence resistance politically and within the press and it seems the rich make really an immoral effort to do so.

I hope the couple hundred year old American experiment manages to survive the current trend.

[Jspur]

12. I would say

they are pure evil. I apply marginal utility theory when it comes to the rich. Marginal Utility theory basically state the more you consume a product the less satisfied you will become with it over time. For example lets say your favorite food is steak. Imagine if you could eat it every day for breakfast,lunch,dinner. On the first day you will be overjoyed eating that steak but after a week of consuming it you will start to hate steak and will desire to eat something else. This applies to the rich in the sense that they don't really get that much joy or pleasure from owning a bunch of mansions,yachts,etc because after a while it gets old and boring. So what comes next is joy of having power which means controlling other people and forcing misery on them. Think about these billionaire families such as the Koch brothers who have amassed wealth that could last for centuries. It's hard to imagine why these families can be outraged of paying a little bit more in taxes that would decrease their value of their net worth by only a tiny bit. The reason they hate paying more taxes is not because they are giving up more money but because they know by paying more taxes it means a better life for average citizens which in returns means they will have less power and control over the masses.

[mercuryblues]

17. Add to that

the amount of money spent to influence government to their favor. They are actively pushing for people to die so they can get a tax cut. A lot of money to make sure that happens. It would actually be cheaper for them to pay their taxes and shut up. A tax cut = more money for them to spend buying more legislators to get more favors. At the rate republikklans are going there will not be much of a democracy to save if we get the chance.

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. No, they're greedy evil shits. No sugarcoating it.

[TDale313]

5. Barely a conspiracy theory at this point.

Pretty much just a verifiable fact. And yes, welcome to DU

[czarjak]

6. Ann Coulter was an immediate fan of Citizens United...

She said so.

[tirebiter]

9. So was the ACLU

They argued the case as an issue of free speech

https://www.thenation.com/article/why-aclu-wrong-about-citizens-united/

Why the ACLU Is Wrong About ‘Citizens United’

A former ACLU attorney points out that corporate spending on political campaigns is not “free speech” deserving First Amendment protection.

[disalitervisum]

10. Today I heard a Noam Chomsky piece on the establishment of American Oligarchy

The subject of this piece is neoliberalism, the underlying political philosophy animating oligarchical control of society. It's not a natural inclination, it's a premeditated plan that stretches back for decades, to the implementation of University of Chicago Economics Department theory applied to South America i.e., Chile, Argentina, etc. in the 1970's. See also Naomi Klein's book, "The Shock Doctrine."

[link:http://www.alternativeradio.org/collections/latest-programs/products/chon254|

[captain queeg]

13. Some disturbing perspectives

But I still tend to believe it’s pretty damn hard to pull off a long term
Conspiracy. As mentioned there are plenty of reasons that the rich act the way they do. Maybe “conspiracy” is not the right term. To me that means some sort of coordinated plan and I just don’t think individuals can remain focused in the short term for a long time. There’d be many times they have some personal interest or idea that would prevent them of acting toward the eventual goals. I’d say it’s more of acting on those individual goals that leads to an agragate set of solutions that ultimately favor the rich. And yes, many of the short term responses could be defined as evil or immoral.

[dchill]

14. It's more a "birds of a feather" kind of thing than a full-blown conspiracy.

IMO.

[KT2000]

15. a natural inclination of the rich

is to feel entitled to more power. I believe they develop a belief that they are superior to others and the proof is their wealth. Since they are so much more superior they are entitled to set the rules for all. The wealthy live in a bubble of exclusive homes, clubs, planes, etc. They keep to their own and regard others with disdain - less than.
I believe it is a mental illness.

[Mountain Mule]

16. Not a doubt that we are witnessing the formation of a culture of aristocracy!

There has always been a sort of "aristocratic fringe" through-out American history. George Washington had to resist more than on attempt to be made King. It's a pendulum that dutifully swings from right left then back again. Look at all the fears that sprang up under the combination of FDR's depression era public works programs along with a plague of dust bowl survivors wandering around on the Great Plains. "The country will go Communist!" was the cry. So we did a complete 180 and this time elected ourselves a nice, safe,STRONG former WWII General like Dwight Eisenhower. And so forth and so on... The mechanism at work seemed to be self correcting so that it never pushed us fall under a fascist rule; nor did we over-correct and turn communist at the very next election.

When we put Reagan and his adoring uber-wife into power is when we screwed the pooch. The repugs couldn't wait to dismantle Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" anymore than Trump has waited to undo every last thing President Obama managed to accomplish. Same old, same old - Bonzo and Ronnie dismantled the old welfare program (ADFC) for a temporary one (TANF) and created the caricature of the "Welfare Queen" - an African American woman (Who else?) with 10 or so kids to whom she fed lobster and caviar paid for on the taxpayer's dime with food stamps.

Since the Reagan era, it's been one long race to the bottom. I don't believe that the bottom dwellers got together and formed a conspiracy - not at first. The upper 1% or the Koch Brothers or whoever merely acted out of individual self interest, but it doesn't take long to recognize when you and another player are after the same thing only more of it, then you may start forming conspiracies.

[pansypoo53219]

18. newspaper men were not rich. they used to be on the side of the common man.

teevee gnewz are well off + for the upper class.

[Solomon]

20. Yes. Getting rid of the estate tax and allowing dynasty trusts

is a big part of it. It's very ironic. America was born as the antidote to aristocracy. Now we are trying to institute it.