"I believe these people began to usurp power in the United States with the establishment of the Federal Reserve in 1913 and the entry of America into World War I. World War II consolidated their wealth and power, and they took control of the presidency in my view with the assassination of JFK in 1963."
Mostly agreed but I'm quite certain elite capture began with The Republic itself, and over time in a rapidly industrializing society the elite changed to those that capitalized best. Early America was agrarian, but as the industrial revolution came full tilt there was a power struggle between the old aristocracy (southern plantation owning Democrats based on the old Roman model) and the new ruling class (financiers, bankers, and proto-capitalist factory owners that secured massive technological superiority). The founding fathers were more comparable to the former than the latter and based their ideas on this soon-to-be obsolete frame unfortunately. Big capital and industrialization changed the game so it was war for control of the future by the mid 1800s, and the winners were never dislodged: they made America "great" from then on, but not a land of liberty.
People quickly forgot that the mid-to-late 1800s were among the most miserable times to be alive in America, and even worse in England. The agrarian model that worked before, with cottage industry, was made obselete by factories, destroying countless lives and livelihoods. The replacement was to become a slave in an informal sense: the man, his wife, and his children as young as 3 years old were to work 16 hour shifts 7 days a week. Eventually some Christian morality entered in and they got Sundays off at least. They did all that for... Barely even enough to survive. The massacres of strikers only ended in the damn 1940s.
Americans and even more so Englanders were subjected to these horrific conditions for decades, with no alternative except to settle the frontier (like becoming a homesteader nowadays but way more brutal, without even that option in Britain). It was only in the early 1900s with visionaries like Henry Ford that realized: instead of doing the ol' grab em by the heels and shake routine, to squeeze every last dime out of them, you can *actually* compensate your workers well and treat them better, and *gasp* they'll buy your products and be loyal! Amazing! That notion changed the game and shaped all modern perception.
But what it amounts to is trading a cage for a gilded cage: nothing substantially changed, only conditions improved. It should be no surprise to us now that the deal is being revoked and we're all to be impoverished and ground down now. It did not originate with the Fed, that was its cementing for a new era of prosperity: this is the era of the saying, "a rising tide lifts all boats". A nice idea until you understand its true meaning. Liberty is antithetical to all of industrial civilization and always has been: it simply doesn't serve the interests of big capital. But serfdom does.
What has changed is that now the masters no longer care what we think or worry about us, they know that all we know is a gilded cage and they only need the vain promise of that to own us. We're too comfortable to make the sacrifices to live truly free, like our ancestors.
"One of the hallmarks of a collapsing civilisation is that the people who should have authority don’t and the people who do have authority are incompetent."
Immediate like from the first line, great analysis and putting it into historical perspective. It is indeed the fall of a great civilization, and I now understand what it was like in previous iterations and why nobody could course correct: nobody with power will allow someone with ability to take their proper place, because then the current powerful will lose face and become obsolete. It's a procedure of making an entire civilization obsolete to preserve an old man on his death bed a few weeks longer, as it were.
Such a clear explanation of where we are now. Even here in the UK, where politicians who are voted in by the people, for the people, who are the well educated, are mocked. I can't look back to the country I grew up in over sixty years ago, without wanting to weep for all that has been destroyed.
Accurate as ever, Dr. Hilton. Would be interested on your take for the UK, really not sure what to make of our political situation here at present. I do know that we have not, all of a sudden, become a left leaning society and hence the result of the current elections, far from it, merely sick of a self serving and imcompetent right (ahem!) wing government - only to elect another self serving incompetent left wing governnment. Not sure how far they are in thrall to the banks though! Big pharma, perhaps.
Yes, representative democracy is really quite a farce these days, isn't it. The various sides only fight about cosmetic issues and they never talk about what really matters. I was in London 20 years ago and already it didn't feel British at all. If the people in charge of America do start a war with Russia, then we can expect the cities of Britain to take a hard hit, unfortunately. Sorry to be so bleak.
"I believe these people began to usurp power in the United States with the establishment of the Federal Reserve in 1913 and the entry of America into World War I. World War II consolidated their wealth and power, and they took control of the presidency in my view with the assassination of JFK in 1963."
Mostly agreed but I'm quite certain elite capture began with The Republic itself, and over time in a rapidly industrializing society the elite changed to those that capitalized best. Early America was agrarian, but as the industrial revolution came full tilt there was a power struggle between the old aristocracy (southern plantation owning Democrats based on the old Roman model) and the new ruling class (financiers, bankers, and proto-capitalist factory owners that secured massive technological superiority). The founding fathers were more comparable to the former than the latter and based their ideas on this soon-to-be obsolete frame unfortunately. Big capital and industrialization changed the game so it was war for control of the future by the mid 1800s, and the winners were never dislodged: they made America "great" from then on, but not a land of liberty.
People quickly forgot that the mid-to-late 1800s were among the most miserable times to be alive in America, and even worse in England. The agrarian model that worked before, with cottage industry, was made obselete by factories, destroying countless lives and livelihoods. The replacement was to become a slave in an informal sense: the man, his wife, and his children as young as 3 years old were to work 16 hour shifts 7 days a week. Eventually some Christian morality entered in and they got Sundays off at least. They did all that for... Barely even enough to survive. The massacres of strikers only ended in the damn 1940s.
Americans and even more so Englanders were subjected to these horrific conditions for decades, with no alternative except to settle the frontier (like becoming a homesteader nowadays but way more brutal, without even that option in Britain). It was only in the early 1900s with visionaries like Henry Ford that realized: instead of doing the ol' grab em by the heels and shake routine, to squeeze every last dime out of them, you can *actually* compensate your workers well and treat them better, and *gasp* they'll buy your products and be loyal! Amazing! That notion changed the game and shaped all modern perception.
But what it amounts to is trading a cage for a gilded cage: nothing substantially changed, only conditions improved. It should be no surprise to us now that the deal is being revoked and we're all to be impoverished and ground down now. It did not originate with the Fed, that was its cementing for a new era of prosperity: this is the era of the saying, "a rising tide lifts all boats". A nice idea until you understand its true meaning. Liberty is antithetical to all of industrial civilization and always has been: it simply doesn't serve the interests of big capital. But serfdom does.
What has changed is that now the masters no longer care what we think or worry about us, they know that all we know is a gilded cage and they only need the vain promise of that to own us. We're too comfortable to make the sacrifices to live truly free, like our ancestors.
An outstanding analysis. Agree entirely. Start a blog and I'll sub 👍🏼
Thanks brother! I might just do that ;)
"One of the hallmarks of a collapsing civilisation is that the people who should have authority don’t and the people who do have authority are incompetent."
Immediate like from the first line, great analysis and putting it into historical perspective. It is indeed the fall of a great civilization, and I now understand what it was like in previous iterations and why nobody could course correct: nobody with power will allow someone with ability to take their proper place, because then the current powerful will lose face and become obsolete. It's a procedure of making an entire civilization obsolete to preserve an old man on his death bed a few weeks longer, as it were.
Such a clear explanation of where we are now. Even here in the UK, where politicians who are voted in by the people, for the people, who are the well educated, are mocked. I can't look back to the country I grew up in over sixty years ago, without wanting to weep for all that has been destroyed.
Accurate as ever, Dr. Hilton. Would be interested on your take for the UK, really not sure what to make of our political situation here at present. I do know that we have not, all of a sudden, become a left leaning society and hence the result of the current elections, far from it, merely sick of a self serving and imcompetent right (ahem!) wing government - only to elect another self serving incompetent left wing governnment. Not sure how far they are in thrall to the banks though! Big pharma, perhaps.
Yes, representative democracy is really quite a farce these days, isn't it. The various sides only fight about cosmetic issues and they never talk about what really matters. I was in London 20 years ago and already it didn't feel British at all. If the people in charge of America do start a war with Russia, then we can expect the cities of Britain to take a hard hit, unfortunately. Sorry to be so bleak.