Good discussion. I feel like it isn’t so much that the people at the very top really are dumb. Smart enough not to get killed, at least. Usually they seem either lucky (Gates) or ruthless (Soros, Clintons etc). It’s more that they are smart enough and rich enough to buy the right loyal underlings that really are possibly brilliant, definitely diabolical true believers. Our current Oligarch class isn’t so much brilliant, ruthless, and efficient. They are more just kind of winging it. Causing many unintended problems that they not only don’t want to get blamed for, but also want credit for fixing. WEF is kind of a clown show. But the Trilateral Commission, which has many overlapping members, seems like a smarter set, and pretty diabolical.
Right. They have connections and are smart enough. Kissinger is smart, but he didn't understand how the Chinese were different than the Vietnamese.
The Koch brothers inherited wealth and grew their wealth, with a bunch of mistakes along the war. They have used their wealth to push deregulation, open borders, and free trade and control a large portion of the Republican Party. They couldn't see that these ideas hurt the country in the long run.
Bill is a gifted politician. Hillary is shortsighted. Neither has a real understanding of foreign policy and both just went along with the Neocons.
The Kagans might be smart and have used their efforts against Russia, but everything they do is counterproductive.
The Rockefellers were behind the Trilateral Commission, the CFR, and a lot of other things. Of course, they started with inherited wealth as well. They used their power to expand America power, but all their efforts have turned to crap over the last few years. Again, people who can't reasonably look at the negative possible outcomes from policies and actually cause worse outcomes.
I have yet to see any as smart as Putin or Xi. Those two are not without flaws, but both are better masterminds than any I see in the West. Maybe J Powell.
Can’t say I watch them all closely enough to form solid detailed opinions but I would say generally that our current Oligarch class is far less pro-American than they have probably ever been. As a class they’ve certainly done a lot of damage over a very long period of time, but it used to seem that they were generally well-intentioned in terms of benefiting most Americans and nearly evenly split between the parties. That the Kochs didn’t understand why they should have supported Trump over Clinton is a bit mystifying. They clearly know how to make lots of money but they don’t seem to understand political philosophy all that well. Or maybe they’re just corrupt and figured they could buy Democrat indulgences to keep them at bay like the rest of the corporate class has. It seems now that a large part of the Oligarch class thinks it appropriate to basically wage war against half this nation due largely to little other than the election of Trump. Elon seems that be pushing back on this a bit. They use a variety of tactics but the most prevalent seems to be money laundering from the middle class to themselves and their serfs.
Maybe the biggest problem we have now is that all these Oligarchs’ wives and daughters have too much influence. Oops, did I just say that out loud? Don’t tell my wife!
Good discussion. I feel like it isn’t so much that the people at the very top really are dumb. Smart enough not to get killed, at least. Usually they seem either lucky (Gates) or ruthless (Soros, Clintons etc). It’s more that they are smart enough and rich enough to buy the right loyal underlings that really are possibly brilliant, definitely diabolical true believers. Our current Oligarch class isn’t so much brilliant, ruthless, and efficient. They are more just kind of winging it. Causing many unintended problems that they not only don’t want to get blamed for, but also want credit for fixing. WEF is kind of a clown show. But the Trilateral Commission, which has many overlapping members, seems like a smarter set, and pretty diabolical.
Right. They have connections and are smart enough. Kissinger is smart, but he didn't understand how the Chinese were different than the Vietnamese.
The Koch brothers inherited wealth and grew their wealth, with a bunch of mistakes along the war. They have used their wealth to push deregulation, open borders, and free trade and control a large portion of the Republican Party. They couldn't see that these ideas hurt the country in the long run.
Bill is a gifted politician. Hillary is shortsighted. Neither has a real understanding of foreign policy and both just went along with the Neocons.
The Kagans might be smart and have used their efforts against Russia, but everything they do is counterproductive.
The Rockefellers were behind the Trilateral Commission, the CFR, and a lot of other things. Of course, they started with inherited wealth as well. They used their power to expand America power, but all their efforts have turned to crap over the last few years. Again, people who can't reasonably look at the negative possible outcomes from policies and actually cause worse outcomes.
I have yet to see any as smart as Putin or Xi. Those two are not without flaws, but both are better masterminds than any I see in the West. Maybe J Powell.
Can’t say I watch them all closely enough to form solid detailed opinions but I would say generally that our current Oligarch class is far less pro-American than they have probably ever been. As a class they’ve certainly done a lot of damage over a very long period of time, but it used to seem that they were generally well-intentioned in terms of benefiting most Americans and nearly evenly split between the parties. That the Kochs didn’t understand why they should have supported Trump over Clinton is a bit mystifying. They clearly know how to make lots of money but they don’t seem to understand political philosophy all that well. Or maybe they’re just corrupt and figured they could buy Democrat indulgences to keep them at bay like the rest of the corporate class has. It seems now that a large part of the Oligarch class thinks it appropriate to basically wage war against half this nation due largely to little other than the election of Trump. Elon seems that be pushing back on this a bit. They use a variety of tactics but the most prevalent seems to be money laundering from the middle class to themselves and their serfs.
Elon might be a good evil mastermind to put in control.
We are ready to install your neuralink now, Pete…
Hahaha.
Maybe the biggest problem we have now is that all these Oligarchs’ wives and daughters have too much influence. Oops, did I just say that out loud? Don’t tell my wife!