The oligarchs do not believe democracy should be a constraint on their power and that they are above the law. They treat democracy as something to be replaced whatever authoritative idea that sounds creative. Peter Thiel and Elon Musk are their evangelists with Rep. Jay Obernolte playing as useful idiot. One of Trump’s first executive orders created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under which Elon Musk was appointed to lead the effort slashing government spending, starting with firing tens of thousands of people across the federal workforce. Oligarchs are making decisions on what is being cut and how public administration is being reshaped with no congressional oversight.
Oligarchs get direct control over parts of government while Representative Jay Obernolte cheers them on. Mark my words that this will lead to the privatization of Social Security and regulatory capture. Billionaires control media platforms, both directly or indirectly and social media infrastructure with no accountability. Platforms where one person with enormous resources can influence what kind of speech is allowed or amplified.
We are at a moment where the rules of democracy are being ignored from within by those who benefit from democracy’s dysfunction. The oligarchs, backed by political networks, legal reform, media power, and willing politicians, is systematically pushing toward forms of governance that favor their interests at the expense of broader participation and accountability.
If democracy is to survive in anything more than name, the public must demand reforms: transparency in campaign finance; stronger protections for voting rights; limits on private influence in government; independent oversight; media diversity; and institutions resilient to capture. Without that, we risk slipping into a system where the rights, freedoms, and voices of all but the wealthy become secondary.
Photo by The Cleveland Museum of Art on Unsplash
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