I never liked the saying: “We are the 99%.” While admittedly catchy and effective as a slogan, I think it is ultimately divisive and counterproductive. The reason I say this is because the statement itself alienates much needed allies for no good reason.
In a country with a population of 320 million, the 1% represents 3.2 million people, which is a pretty big number. While the 1% certainly have far superior material lives compared to the 99%, that doesn’t mean a particularly large percentage of them are thieves, cronies or oligarchs. In fact, it behooves people interested in transitioning to another paradigm to court as many of them as possible to the cause. It is very useful to have well meaning people with resources and connections on your side. To blithely assume there aren’t plenty of potential allies from a pool of 3.2 million is committing strategic suicide.
– From the post: Charting the American Oligarchy – How 0.01% of the Population Contributes 42% of All Campaign Cash
Much of my focus throughout 2015 was on the pernicious influence of the 0.01%, i.e., the American oligarchy. Indeed, nothing would please oligarchs more than to define a struggle as the 99% vs. the 1% in order to shift attention away from the real root of the problem, themselves.
As I’ve mentioned time and time again, 99% of the 1% doesn’t bribe politicians, write tax laws, or influence U.S. foreign policy. To discover the real players, the people who drive American domestic and foreign policy, as well as make all of the important decisions, you only need to focus on a hand full of people.
Today, the New York Times published an important article that proves the point. Here are the key paragraphs in the entire lengthy article:
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