Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Mother Jones isn't owned by any media oligarch, which is why its Jan-Feb issues are so relevant to the 2024 election.
Last edited Sat Jul 13, 2024, 05:57 AM - Edit history (1)
The Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered an unprecedented crackdown by the United States and other Western nations on the mansions, megayachts, and bank accounts of Russia’s ultrawealthy tycoons. Yet targeting Russia’s oligarchs surfaced some uncomfortable questions about our own political and financial systems and the people who shape them. So we thought it was time for a good, long look in the mirror. For our January + February 2024 issue, Mother Jones explores the rise and power of the emerging class of billionaires—fueled by the monopolistic growth of Big Tech—who are remaking America in their own decadent and extractive image. Their bored whims and futuristic fantasies shape how and where you live and work, even as their own worlds are increasingly siloed off from the rest of us. Welcome to the American Oligarchy.
Any article from the link's two issues is full of history, names, data, and lessons that will equip us for the oligarch war to capture our government.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/01/american-oligarchy/
As Thom Hartman explains in his Hidden History of the American Oligarchy, for oligarchy to totally take down democracy, only three things are initially needed:
1. Control of (or substantial influence over) critical portions of media;
2. Legalization of bribery of public officials (dark money, quid pro quo gifts) so tht oligarchs can capture majority control of the legislative process;
3. Control of the most critical parts of the court system so that they can assure desired legal processes.
The 4th element comes into play last, when oligarchy is well established and the transition to tyranny begins -- it's the seizure of the executive branch and the formation of a police state using mass surveillance and selective prosecution against agitators for democracy (Project 2025).
It's not obvious to most -- present reader excepted -- that the above four elements correspond with recent events in our three branches of government and media.
While it's true that Biden is going for the working class vote backed by some oligarch money, Trump is going for the oligarchy vote buying, through msm corporate media and from Silicon Valley to Sioux Falls to Hungary.
8 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
The war has been going on for decades but we are in final battles right now.
Do you want rule of law or rule by money?
because he's got some oligarchs behind him who still want to preserve the order and stability of Western democracies.
I'm totally okay with that. We'll see what happens when Kamala runs, or even if she has to take over for Biden for any reason.
I love your class war graphic and link!
As a subscriber culling old magazines, I found these issues valuable and so shared them.
MJ does its good journalism through subscribers and donations only, so I recommend that we support it, given the kind of corporate media coverage/lack of coverage we see this year.