NO to American Oligarchs
Wordplay
NO to American Oligarchs!
The term "oligarch" is derived from the Ancient Greek ‘oligarkhia’ meaning "the rule of the few”. - Language origin of Oligarchy
The definition of an Oligarch - “An oligarch is one of the select few people who rule or influence leaders in an oligarchy—a government in which power is held by a select few individuals or a small class of powerful people.” - Dictionary.com
“Any form of government in which there is ‘rule by a few’; for example, by members of a self-regulating elite having domination over a larger society.”
I’m trying to figure out how and why this term is used to identify Russians specifically. I’m not a linguist, but I do know that the Russian LANGUAGE is not based on, nor does it have a linguistic connection to the Greek language; however, its alphabet does. Two gentlemen (saints in Eastern Orthodoxy), Cyril and Methodius, used the Greek alphabet as the basis for development of the written Slavic languages. That is the only connection between the Greek and Russian languages. Saints Cyril and Methodius However, we seem to use the term oligarch only in relation to Russians.
According to all of the above definitions of the word, western ‘democracies’ are run by oligarchs!
Did you know that the U.S. Congress is considering bailing out Jeff Bezos’ space company? “At this moment, if you can believe it, Congress is considering legislation to provide a $10bn bailout to Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin space company for a contract to build a lunar lander. This legislation is taking place after Blue Origin lost a competitive bid to SpaceX, Musk’s company.” - Speak Bernie!!! The fact that Amazon has become the biggest retailer on earth and pays no taxes? That Bezos now owns the largest chain of ‘organic’ supermarkets in the U.S.A. That Bezos purchased the once well respected Washington Post in 2013? That the editorial policy of that paper radically changed after that purchase? That within the same period of buying the Post, Bezos entered into a contract agreement with the CIA, supposedly for ‘cloud storage’ via… Amazon? Bezos and the CIA
Not only does this speak to the complete trashing of any idea of antitrust laws, but if you think this man/these men are NOT influencing public policy, think again.
Another example? Bill Gates. This man who has NO medical or scientific training or degrees; nor any education or teaching credentials; yet has been able to accomplish the following.
He has told us when Omicron will slow down, and warned us that there will be another pandemic coming, with much more dangerous pathogens. In his philanthropist role, he is working with pharma to create new and more ‘effective’ vaccines against his predicted disasters. He is also a proponent of population control. I’m sure you can guess which populations need controlling. Hint. They are NOT the populations responsible for creating and escalating climate disaster. I will say that the countries responsible for creating the most Carbon dioxide emissions, are NOT in his opinion, the countries whose populations need ‘reducing’. Funny that. Gates and the Third World
Gates has also decided to fund a science project in geo engineering. The objective was to dim the amount of sunlight reaching Earth, by releasing particles into the atmosphere. “Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program (SGRP) studies a climate change strategy to cool the earth which sounds straight out of a science fiction novel. If ever implemented, it would entail flying a suite of aircraft 30-odd miles above earth’s surface to inject millions of tons of sulphate particles into the air. High up in the stratosphere, these particles would shroud the globe in a chemical mirror, reflecting away some of the sun’s radiation before it could be trapped by greenhouse gases.” Dimming the Sun/Harvard Crimson
Thankfully, this project has been cancelled or is at least ‘on hold’.
Now to Elon musk. This is a man who has proclaimed that he wishes to stay out of the political arena. With billions of dollars and his edge in EV; the door opens to his being on top of the increasing demand for things like self-driving cars AND the insurance to cover them, in addition to other financial innovations related to his company’s innovations. He is in the process of purchasing Twitter, while saying that he has done so in response to the current climate of censorship in social media, and that he would provide an arena for ‘free thought and speech’. Uh-huh.
Of the three, Gates is the only one not participating in the Space Race, saying that there is too much work to do here on Earth. For him, I’m sure there is. I mean, who has the time for space exploration when there are changes to the fundamentals of public school learning to be made, pandemic predictions to tell, and to luckily be on the financial receiving end of the miraculous vaccines to save humanity from that predicted pandemic, and blocking out the sun; again, all in the service of humanity! Ok. The third participant in the space race is of course Richard Branson, but as he is not American, I do not include him here.
So, with Bezos, Gates, and Musk; I give you THREE strong examples of American oligarchs. These men fit the very definition of the word. They influence policy in numerous ways. They hold no governmental position, while being able to manipulate how our schools teach, how our news and information is reported and/or propagandised, how and what we eat, how we vote and consume, who we hate and who we love; and they do not tithe the government via taxes.
Let’s compare the top three Russian oligarchs to American ‘billionaires’. All money translated to USD.
Top Four Russian Oligarchs - Russia's top 4+
#1 - Vladimir Potanin - $25.9 Billion
#2 - Leonid Mikhelson - $22.6 Billion
#3 - Alexey Mordashov - $22.5 Billion
#4 - Vladimir Lisin - $21.6 Billion
Top Four American Billionaires - America's top 4+
#1 - Elon Musk - $239.2 Billion
#2 - Jeff Bezos - $165.2 Billion
#3 - Bernard Arnault & Family - $159.0 Billion
#4 - Bill Gates - $129.4 Billion
(All totals and figures based on March 2022 data)
How is it possible that the Russians are oligarchs, but the Americans are not? We have the evidence of their influence on government policy, public commerce and opinion right in front of our noses. Yet we cannot bring ourselves to use the same terminology used for other, and DEFINITELY financially lesser billionaires.
This gives the word oligarch an even more sinister meaning and feeling. Our usage of it regarding only a country with which we have been at odds for decades, gives its usage an extra dash of venom. The top 4 Russian billionaires combined have less money than Bill Gates. Yet Gates is merely a billionaire, who happens to have his nasty little fingers in our education system, in medical science, in environmental research and science, and thusly in government and public policy; SIMPLY because he has money, and especially insane because he has NO expertise in any of those areas in which he is engaged. Bezos is in the process of closing the ‘shops’ that personally catered to customers, in exchange for the ease and instant gratification of ordering something as basic as toilet paper or shoes and clothing or just about anything; with next day delivery. Owning the nation’s largest organic food supermarket chain Whole Foods. Owning one of the nation’s largest and formally respected news outlets, The Washington Post, AND at the same time contracting out to the CIA, while creating a Space company (paid for with the profits of his other enterprises).
Oh did I mention that the Washington Post(WaPo), at this time newly purchased by Bezos, was the originator of the ‘Fake News’ list a few years ago? This list accused mostly independent news outlets like Truthdig, The Intercept, Consortium News, Truthout, Democracy Now and a slew of others, of promoting fake news. It also went after journalists Chris Hedges, Glenn Greenwald, Ben Norton, John Pilger, etc. Meanwhile the WaPo continuously published false or misleading information on MANY topics and people. Its most insidious reporting was on Bernie Sanders. Sometimes those stories were retracted. SOMETIMES, and when they were the retractions were to be found on the bottom of the obituary page, and by the time the retraction was printed, the damage had already been done.
Journalism is supposed to inform the public with FACTUAL information. Dis or Misinformation from the press serves only one purpose. To sway public opinion. This affects the choices people make at the polls. It affects how we view public policy, and it affects how we view and treat our fellow citizens.
As to Elon Musk? Well, the purchase of a social media giant with claims of wanting to stay out of politics, while being the sole owner of one of the biggest social media outlets; and the one with the MOST contentious exchanges and dialogue… yeh, right.
Also, keep in mind that launch pads, and all the things that go into enabling a rocket to launch need government approval. You can’t just launch a rocket off of say… Hyannisport (where they don’t even want a wind farm = NIMBY). There are regulations about this kind of thing. Bezos and Musk are not a part of NASA as far as I know, yet somehow are able to decide to create space companies, acquire all the necessary equipment and materials, AND get permission to launch their rockets.
Please tell me how these American billionaires are any different, better, or somehow deserving of gentler treatment than their less wealthy Russian counterparts? IF we are going to improve and grow our vocabularies, let’s make sure we know the meaning of the words we are using. The word ‘oligarch’ is NOT Russian in origin, and has nothing in the definition which correlates to billionaires who are Russian. This is an affectation of the west. An obvious method to demonise people, by choosing a word, the origin of which is OBVIOUSLY foreign; to describe the billionaires of the enemy.
If the Russians are oligarchs, then their American counterparts are SUPER oligarchs, let’s be serious here. Yes, they are only words, but in some situations; especially situations involving geopolitics, economics and manufacturing consent for war; words can be powerful weapons. The public, incorporating those words into their everyday conversations, should know and understand what those words actually mean and why they are used in specific situations regarding specific peoples. At a time when words are so easily weaponised, language is kind of important.