Good news.
There are no "elites".
There are some rich people who use the political method to get richer and to order you around. But that "political power" only exists if you pretend it does. Even their wealth depends on your cooperation. Stop pretending that FRNs have value and those "rich people" will not be so rich anymore.
Sure, they may have some actual money (gold, silver, property) in their possession, but without the FRNs they accumulated having value, they would have to start spending their real money. They might not be starting from the same place as you or me, but they would not be quite as advantaged. They wouldn't be able to be "elite" unless you gave them that status.
Come to think of it, that's where they stand now.
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And please don't forget.
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I would agree that most of the people we see as elites are actually just rich. What are your thoughts on the existance of true elites, people who are smarter, more charismatic and more driven than the norm? Fictional examples would be Rand's protagonists in Atlas, though they are obviously extreme. Real world examples would be America's Founding Fathers, men who were obviously intelligent and charismatic and who changed the world when they were unhappy with it.
ReplyDeleteReal elites don't have to lord it over anyone else. They don't have to protect their status with "laws".
ReplyDeleteIt's similar to the difference between a Ruler and a leader. A Ruler is a false leader who has to use aggression to make people do what he wants them to do- he uses them as pawns. A leader doesn't force non-aggressive people to do anything- he shows them the way and they voluntarily go. Or not. But if they don't he doesn't then grab them and shove them along.
A true elite has earned that position.
By your definition there has never been a true leader who amounted to anything.
ReplyDeleteIf it means he becomes a ruler rather than a leader and he's okay with that, a person with the wherewithal to do so, can, in fact, do so.
For example, America would be a monarchy except that those with the power to chose decided against it.
My position is that there are "movers and shakers" in the world and the rest of us a largely along for the ride. So when you say that real elites don't have to protect their status with laws, I say that those laws are aimed more at limiting competing elites.
That's not to say we're totally subjugated all the time, just that we're less relevant to the process. Its disheartening, but that's what I see today and all through history. A story of a few making decisions for the many.