“Musk could be the first [U.S.] oligarch,” Kasparov said. “Having the largest private contractor of the U.S. government potentially being in the position of supervising the entire U.S. budget? I mean, just think about it. If this is not classical oligarchy, what is it?”
“Oligarchy is not about the amount of money. Oligarchy is about blurring the line, erasing the line, between business and government.”
Russian dissident warns of 'extremely dangerous' development in U.S.
https://www.rawstory.com/the-2670272615/
@weaselx86 oh, we've been here before, look at Andrew Mellon. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Mellon I recommend Matt Stoller's book Goliath for a history of the fight against concentrated power.
@weaselx86 he's definitely not the first. Read some US history.
@weaselx86
"First"...? Citizens United in 2010 was the defining moment when american Oligarchs became rulers, by pick and choosing candidates and laws. This is the inevitable outcome of Neoliberalism. Some of us have been shouting from the rooftops for years, y'all didn't listen.
Close, but not exactly right.
Oligarchy is a form of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of a small, privileged group of people.
Blurring the line of governance between the public and the private is one of the defining features of fascism.
The US is now both things, a fascist state with an oligarchic form of government.
It's kleptocracy.
@weaselx86 vi è un terrore assoluto che i deficenti diventino efficienti
@weaselx86 This is why I haven’t been able to take Kasparov seriously in, well, forever when it comes to politics. If he thinks Musk is the first fascist to blur the lines between business and government in the U.S., he’s just being willfully naive, as usual. Being the world champion at chess doesn’t make you smarter that others regarding politics. It makes you brilliant at chess. It’s why I don’t look to Magnus Carlsen for his political hypotheses.
@weaselx86 Kasparov’s experience with Stalinist authoritarianism is vaguely useful, but absolutely not unique. There are far better historians that have laid out the dangers of Stalin flavored communism. Kasparov fortunately for himself escaped that, but only to rush into the loving arms of western neoliberal capitalism.
@weaselx86 "Russian dissident"? try "Garry Fucking Kasparov", the longest-reigning world chess champion of all time.