Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Has the US Become an Oligarchy?
No one who watches politics has any doubt that Joe Biden is barely, if at all, running the country. That fact has been true from the beginning of his presidency, and probably long before. Many of us are assuming that Ron Klain with several cohorts in the administration are the ones in charge, making the shocking and ill-conceived decisions for Biden; Biden is just a figurehead. Let me explain why we have effectively, if not formally, become an oligarchy, and the implications of that structure.
Here’s a definition of an oligarchy:
Broadly speaking, an oligarchy is a form of government characterized by the rule of a few persons or families. More specifically, the term was used by Greek philosopher Aristotle in contrast to aristocracy, which was another term to describe rule by a privileged few. However, to Aristotle, an aristocracy signified rule by the best members of society, while an oligarchy was characterized by the rule of the few for corrupt and unjust purposes.
Although the term has, generally, fallen out of favor, oligarchy is sometimes used to describe a government or society in which rulers are selected from a small class of elites. These elites exercise power on behalf of their class rather than for the greater good. German-born, Italian sociologist Robert Michels coined the phrase ‘iron law of oligarchy,’ which holds that there is an inevitable tendency of organizations to become less democratic and more oligarchic over time.
Oligarchy can be subdivided into several categories; for our purposes, I’m using the umbrella term, although I must admit that I was tempted to include, facetiously, the definition of geniocracy:
With a focus on problem solving and creative intelligence, geniocracy is essentially a government that is run by geniuses. Compassion and intelligence are the two main characteristics of the person in charge of these types of countries, and these two factors are considered more important than other factors, including education, familial significance, or a majority rule.
Probably not.
This same article discussed the pros and cons of an oligarchy. Although many of the benefits listed are not being produced by the Biden Administration, most of the cons applied:
- Only the speech of the oligarchs is taken seriously. The ideas of others are either ignored, criticized, or condemned.
- Oligarchs will fight to establish a status quo of their liking. That goal is met by the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer. The middle class slowly disappears, because the structure has no place for them.
- The citizenry begins to rebel when it realizes the existing conditions and the lengths the oligarchy will go to in order to preserve them.
- Rebellion starts to break out in the form of riots and mayhem. Although most rebellion at this point has come from the Left, those activities are meant to intimidate those who will protest the Left’s preferred outcomes. We only need to look at January 6.
- An oligarchy harms the economy. Inflation is escalating at an alarming rate, with no end in sight.
Although the oligarchy membership list here is unclear, we can assume that includes powerful Democrats, the George Soros contingent, the medical bureaucrats (as well as other bureaucrats with influence), big corporations and members of the media (think NY Times or the Washington Post). It’s possible that some of these organizations are second-tier groupies.
Thus, the Democrats who decry our democratic republic as threatened are correct, but for the wrong reasons. Here’s one assessment of America’s situation:
American oligarchy is when myriad states take advantage of a pandemic to pass massive changes to electoral regulations by executive fiat, and thus in violation of the U.S. Constitution, in such a manner as to not-so-coincidentally benefit the regime’s favored political party. American oligarchy is when even the most anodyne of post-2020 election attempts to undo the ad hoc electoral changes of 2020, such as Georgia’s quite moderate voting law, are unfairly maligned by political oligarchs as ‘Jim Crow on steroids’ and viciously opposed by Big Business oligarchs all too happy to boycott states that legislate on behalf of cultural or electoral sanity.
American oligarchy is the spawning of a two-tier ‘biomedical security state’ in which dissenters from the ruling class’ preferred narrative on COVID-19 vaccines, mandates and lockdowns are punished via woke consternation, fired from their jobs, kicked off the digital public square and physically dragged out of convenience stores by police.
So here is where we find ourselves: a President who is a figurehead over a small, powerful group of greedy elites ( fighting for power or wealth or both) who are determined to continue to gather more power over every aspect of our country.
It’s breathtaking.
Published in Politics
Or from Kamala’s staff.
Or both.
I think he means Fascism. “A bundle of sticks” references the Italian fascio from which the Fascist party was named.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascio
BTW, this is another factoid that I first learned on those paranoid-fringe web sites in the ’90s. Go figure.
But that temporary might be 500 years. Consider the case where all the worlds oligarchs join together to cooperate on creating a global feudal system. That might be a robust and persistent system. China, Russia, and Europe are run by oligarchs.
I think you might be right.
I really think Dr. Jill is a non-entity. Sure, she guides and controls him now, but not for herself but others. If she thinks she can by force of reason and drive keep Joe in office when his makers say otherwise I believe she will disappear into the hazy Media memory of things best left unthought of.
If the U.S. hasn’t become an oligarchy, it is well on its way. As “the Left” (I consider “the Left” an inherently oligarchical movement) marched through the institutions over several decades, by 2020 it was in good position to take advantage of the Covid pandemic to become an oligarchy.
An oligarchy depends on the absence of, or weakness of, mediating civic associations – the “little platoons” that Alexis de Toqueville observed as being unique to America. These often local, generally voluntary associations serve as significant practical checks on the ability of the powerful oligarch wanna-bes to actually run things. The churches, synagogues, and mosques, the local professional and business associations, the local arts, music, and theater associations, the sports leagues, the social and recreational clubs, the local business competitor to the large business. People heavily invested in their “little platoons” cannot be controlled by remote large powerful people and institutions.
But, in the pandemic we (“we” the nebulous population at large), destroyed, seriously damaged, or abandoned many of those mediating civic associations. Sometimes at the direction of governments, but often by our own decisions to stop attending and to stop participating. The absence (or weakened state) of those mediating civic associations allowed people and organizations that seek to form an oligarchy the opportunity to do so by taking on a lot of power they would otherwise not be able to. Without our involvement in local religious groups, in local arts shows and concerts, in local sports, in local professional or business associations, without going into our local diner or retail store, we become dependent on what Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Netflix and a few other tech giants and communications platforms want us to see, we say only what those entities want us to say, and we buy what Amazon a few other big retailers want to sell us. And of course those big organizations collaborate with the biggest governments.
Can we and will we recreate the mediating civic associations that limit the ability of the oligarchs to control us? The people and organizations that have taken on that power appear reluctant to give it up, and are clearly putting up roadblocks to prevent people from recreating the mediating civic associations that might threaten their power. Hence the litany of issues identified by Susan in comment #2. I’m afraid I don’t share @dougkimball ’s confidence (comment #10) that the United States constitutional republic is inoculated against oligarchy. Our constitutional republic depends on the presence of people exerting countering forces, and we may no longer have a people with their “little platoons” to exert countering forces. Can we and will we recreate them? And how long will it take? As @dong (DonG) observes in comment #36, will any of us be around when that happens?
What an excellent analysis of our situation, @fullsizetabby! You’ve provided additional perspective that has added helpful information to this conversation. Thank you.
The whole progressive project that began in the late 19th century tends toward self-interested oligarchy.