For the oligarch takeover to succeed we must all become less civil-minded; we must care less for each other and more for our own individual success. Ideally (from the oligarch perspective), we should all become hypercompetitive and callous towards our fellow citizen - “survival of the fittest”; or perhaps, survival of the most selfish.
It is an oddity that without the civility that underpins our collective wealth oligarchs would not achieve such riches, but equally, it is our sense of civility, of community, of fairness, that is the greatest threat to the wealth of the oligarch. They would rather we simply follow their lead: take whatever you can regardless of who you hurt along the way.
As I say, it is odd that if we were all to follow the lead of the greedy, selfish oligarch then society would not last long and all the riches that stem from the collective working would come to an end. The oligarch would lose out too. Further proof, perhaps, that oligarchs have no aspirational ideology or mindset behind their drive. They are not successful humans. They are simply the most ruthless. We follow them at our peril.
Nonetheless, they have achieved considerable power, in particular, over our information sources and cultural inheritance. As they endeavour to program us towards their selfish mindset, they have coopted all forms of media from podcasts to newspapers to TV to social media. What they don’t see (again, they aren’t the most socially intelligent bunch) is that they are forcing us all to ask the question: what is it we want? Is it financial success? Or is it better communities, happier kids, better relationships? They are forcing us to question whether our society has lost its way.
The answer will come, soon. Certainly, we aren’t looking at the oligarchs and thinking how happy or content they must be. We don’t look at them and think what good partners or parents they must make. Indeed, the most common reaction when glancing at those driven to extend their billions is: “And they’re still not happy?”.
To take it further, they are all pretty much alone. Yes, they have hundreds swooning over them. But is there anyone they can sit down with and have an open, honest conversation with? Is there anyone in their lives who, when their time comes and they are on their death bed, will hold their hand, stroke their hair and feel deep and genuine love for them?
As the spotlight shifts to them and their lives, we become less impressed and, in fact, we feel a kind of frustrated pity for them. They should be happy. Or at least, they should be fulfilled. They could achieve so much good in the world and, yes, feel good about doing so. Instead, they seem locked into an odd, senseless drive to be more powerful and more wealthy, like a drug or gambling addict.
It’s useful for us to see. Perhaps when we witness the “most successful” people in the current system we have created, we will reimagine something better. Perhaps celebrity and being rich will be exchanged for being decent and kind. Maybe the rockstars of the future will be those curing cancer or feeding the poor or saving the ecosystem. Sounds a bit too good to be true? I wouldn’t be so sure.
As I say, don’t believe for a second that oligarchs have some grand plan for civilisation or some vision for humanity. They are greedy. They want more. Everything else is simply a justification for that mindset. They will make the arguments, but none of them will stand up to scrutiny. The truth is, that they are trapped within the mindset of greed; where acquiring more gives them a buzz; defines their character; and makes them feel good about themselves. There is nothing else beyond it.
Realising this, we will shift away from consumerism and superficial successes. How much progress will be made? Well, that is up to each of us.
For me, it begins by rejecting the oligarch's drive to divide us. Don’t get me wrong, I have no time for racists or genocidal maniacs. I am happy to be as divided from them as possible. But I do not wish to carry my anger at the current state of affairs into my community, where we are all just trying to make the most of things. Being decent to each other is exactly what the oligarchs don’t want us to do. As such, being decent and kind to each other is the resistance. It is part of the way we weather the storm, defeat the greedy, and eventually recreate a better way of doing things. Civilisation wasn’t built by oligarchs; it was built by people getting on with each other. That is our power. And that is what we are no reclaiming.
This is what I keep saying to everyone who will listen... I'm using my very small bully pulpit as a Rotary club president to talk to everyone in my community who will listen. There is political resistance - but even more important is finding the holes being left in our society by what's going on and then figure out how in a small way, we can fill them. If the government won't do it - we as a community need to step up.
I love your thoughtful, intelligent, data-based pieces! I quote you ( as best I can!) often. Thank you. You inspire me and also inspire hope, compassion and understanding. Love always wins! You explain why. I’ll keep trying to use my well developed brain as I resist!