8 years ago
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The Revolt Against the Ruling Class
Political insiders don’t see that the biggest political phenomenon in America today is a revolt against the “ruling class” of insiders that have dominated Washington for more than three decades. In two very different ways, Trump and Sanders are agents of this revolt. I’ll explain the two ways in a moment.
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I honestly can't think of a solution that can effectively prevent America from becoming a total oligarchy without a large and violent revolution. It's unfortunate to think this way but the alternative seems much worse, where our rights as citizens are slowly stripped away while selfish interests at the top continue to destroy the world with their greed while the masses are too overworked and stressed to do anything about it.
I'm reminded strongly of our "Golden Age" of the 1920s. We had similar problems, but we were able to fix it democratically, by electing strong leadership willing to fight for reform. There are differences, of course. The opposition has improved its propaganda strategies and is more effective at spreading disinformation but the underlying principle still holds true. I'm holding out for a peaceful solution before I sign on for violent revolution.
We were able to fix it because the depression was an opportunity to push through reforms that otherwise might never have happened. Without such a major economic event, I don't see it happening again. It will get worse before it gets better.
I really didn't mean it to be a direct correlation. The "Golden Age" of the 1920s was followed by the economic crisis of the 1930s. We've since learned how to avoid allowing such crisis to cripple the entire nation but we're still plagued by elite interests who aren't interested in sharing anything. People aren't hungry enough for modern distractions to stop working, but it does seem like we're headed in that direction.
That's what worries me. Without a crisis I'm not sure how we get change.
We have to learn to create change rather than wait for it to come to us.
I'm not sure if we've learned that.
I mean the big crisis of recent years, that happened because of bank incompetency with their subprime mortgages, was pretty devastating and has widened the income inequality gap considerably.
Oh, we know how. Not everyone wants to believe it, but we know how to avoid boom-and-bust cycles and how to avoid entering another Great Depression. Even Bush acknowledged the last part when he lobbied for and signed the TARP bill. The folks who insist that government regulation to prevent and stimulus to cure these problems are actually the cause aren't basing their claims on anything approximating evidence.
With 3d printeers and immence wealth of the natural resources, the rulling class doesn't really need that many people around.
The revolt could be a handy excuse for starting trimming the population.
The only thing which stops them from provoking the revolt now is a few remaining packets of resistance to the global government: China, Russia, Syria, Iran, NK, a few South American countries. Once these are converted, the masterplan will be set into motion.
i thought we already were an oligarchy.
Being the cynic that I am,I think they will continue to rule, no matter what.
Obama was successfull in convincing a lot of people that he was the leader of the revolt.
History shows what he really was and is.
Obama never promised to be anything but a centrist. Unfortunately, what we needed all along was someone more like FDR than Bill Clinton.
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I don't see much "revolt" in America. The movement behind Sanders and Trump are honestly because they have no serious policy statement and thus present a Rorschach test for the public. They stand exactly for what you want them to stand for.
Sanders has no serious policy statement? He has called for single payer healthcare, raising the minimum wage, card check for unions, increased taxes, breaking up large banks, opposing the TPP. Plus he has an over 20 year long voting record that is remarkably consistent to judge him on.
Lumping him in with Trump as not having any serious policy is ridiculous.
Agreed. FTA: