How Billionaires Transfer Blame to Others by Eric Zuesse!
(2021-01-19 at 04:21:12 )

How Billionaires Transfer Blame to Others by Eric Zuesse!

In a two-Party dictatorship, the important truths are kept away from being publicized on either side, Eric Zuesse writes.

Throughout history, aristocrats, and their flaks such as their "news"-media, cast blame downward, away from themselves who collectively control the government, and onto, instead, some minority or other mass group, who can not even plan or function together so as to be able to control the government.

The United States has a two-Party aristocracy, as is clear from the "Open Secrets" list of the 100 biggest political donors in the 2020 United States Presidential and congressional campaigns, the "2020 Top Donors to Outside Spending Groups".

Those are only these individuals publicly acknowledged expenditures, none of the dark political money, which, of course, is donated secretly. At the top there, of the donors lists, is Sheldon Adelson (who just died, on January 11th in California, and was buried in Israel), who spent far more than anyone in all of United States history had ever spent in any campaign cycle, $215 million, which amount far exceeded even the $82 million that he had spent in 2016, which in 2016 was second only to Thomas Steyers $92 million (the previous all-time highest amount donated in any campaign year). Mr. Adelson gave exclusively to Republicans, whereas Mr. Steyer gave exclusively to Democrats. Mr. Steyer in 2020 gave $67 million, which - though he was running for President in 2020, and had not been running in 2016 - was only 73% of his 2016 donations, in that year, when he had been the nations top political donor. He was only the 5th-biggest donor in 2020, instead of #1.

The second-biggest donor in 2020 was the liberal Republican Michael Bloomberg, who ran in the Democratic Presidential primaries in order to defeat the only progressive in that contest, who was Bernie Sanders. Bloomberg spent $151 million of his own funds for that purpose. In 2016, he had spent $24 million in order to help Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders, and then try to beat Donald Trump.

The third-biggest in 2020 was Timothy Mellon, the son of Paul Mellon and grandson of Andrew Mellon. Timothy Mellon gave $70 million, all to Republicans.

In 2020, the top ten donors, collectively, spent $776 million to own their chunk of the United States Government. The second group of ten (#s 11-20) donated only $187 million; and, so, the top twenty together donated $963 million, just shy of $1 trillion. All 80 of the other top-100 donors, together, gave around $370 million, so that the total from all 100 was around one-and-a-third trillion dollars. 47 gave to Republicans; 53 gave to Democrats.

The smallest publicly acknowledged donor among the top 100, Foster Friess, gave $2.4 million, all to Republicans.

Most of these 100 donors are among the United States of Americas approximately 700 billionaires; and, even the ones who are not are serving and doing business with the billionaires, and therefore are to some extent dependent upon having good relations with them, not being enemies of any billionaire.

All of these 100 are, obviously, also dependent upon the governmental decisions that the public officials whom they have purchased will be making, not only regarding regulations and laws, but also regarding foreign policies.

For example, Friess merged his company into Affiliated Management Group, which "is a global asset management firm" that "has grown to approximately $730 billion." Virtually all of the top 100 political donors are internationally invested, and their personal wealth is therefore affected by United States of American foreign policies, in ways that the personal wealth of the rest of the population is not.

When the United States invades a foreign country, or issues sanctions against a foreign country, it benefits some United States of American investors, not only in corporations such as Lockheed Martin and ExxonMobil, but even in some foreign-headquartered corporations.

The United States of Americas spending around half of the entire worlds military expenses gives an enormous competitive boost to Americas billionaires, which is paid for by all United States taxpayers.

It takes away money that would otherwise go toward the rest of the United States population - people who might even become crippled or killed by their military service for the benefit of Americas billionaires.

Marketing this military service to the public, as "national defense" - even at a time when no nation has invaded or even threatened to invade America after 1945 - is good PR for the United States of Americas wealthiest families, regardless of whether it is of any benefit whatsoever to other Americans.

Because of the success of this PR for the military, Americans consider the United States military to be Americas best institution - far higher than any other part of the United States Government or any non-governmental institution, such as churches, the press, or the medical system.

The United States Department of Defense is, also, by far, the most corrupt of all Departments of the United States federal Government. This fact is carefully hidden from the United States public, so as to keep the public admiring the military.

Billionaires use their media, and their scholars, to point the finger of blame, for the problems that the public does know about, anywhere else than against themselves; and, though the billionaires have political differences amongst themselves, they are unified against the public, so as to continue the gravy train that they all are on.

In order for the aristocracy not to be blamed for the many problems that they cause upon the public, their first trick is to blame some minority or some other vulnerable mass within the public. Or else to blame some "enemy" country.

But if and when such a strategy fails, then, they and their media blame the middle class or "bourgeoisie," in order to fool the leftists, and also they blame the "communists" and the poor, in order to fool the rightists.

That is a two-pronged PR strategy - one to the left, and the other to the right. Since the aristocracy is always, itself, fundamentally conservative, they would naturally rather blame the leftists as being "communists," than to blame the middle class and poor, because to do the latter would place the publics ideological focus on economic class, which then would threaten to expose the billionaires themselves as being the actual economic "elite" who are the publics real enemy (and as being the elite against which the propaganda should instead be focused).

Blaming the middle class and poor might work amongst their fellow-aristocrats, but if tried amongst the public, it would present the danger of backfiring.

Consequently, there is a return to the days of Joseph R. McCarthy, but this time without communism. Thus, here is how the White House correspondent for a Democratic Party "news"-site, CNN, closed his "news"-analysis, on January 14th, under the headline "Washingtons agony is a win for autocrats and strongmen":

Mission accomplished

Nice work, Mr. Putin.

According to a United States intelligence community report, Russias chief goal in interfering in the 2016 election in support of Donald Trump against Democrat Hillary Clinton was to "undermine public faith in the United States democratic process." Four years on, there have been two impeachments and an insurrection against the United States legislature. Millions believe Donald Trumps lies that he was illegally ejected from power, and doubt Joe Bidens legitimacy.

Conspiracy theorists have seats in Congress. There are serious questions about whether one of the countrys great political parties is now anti-democratic. The Covid-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in a federal system that grants vast power to the states. And Americas self-appointed role as an exceptional nation and beacon of democracy is in the gutter.

Most of the disorienting events of the last few years can be blamed directly on Donald Trump and his particular skill at tearing at the social, racial and political divides that are just below the nations surface. So the ex-KGB man in the Kremlin hardly deserves all the credit. But Russia, China and other autocratic nations are gaining much from Washington,D.C.s agony. They are already using it to promote their own closed and totalitarian societies as models of comparative order and efficiency - and to beat back brave local voices calling for democracy and human rights.

In an effective declaration of victory for Russias espionage offensive against the United States more than four years ago, Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of the Russian Parliament, slid home the knife. "Following the events that unfolded after the presidential elections, it is meaningless to refer to America as the example of democracy," he said.

"We are on the verge of reevaluating the standards that are being promoted by the United States of America, that is exporting its vision of democracy and political systems around the world. Those in our country who love to cite their example as leading will also have to reconsider their views."

That is propaganda from "leftist" (i.e., Democratic Party) billionaires. A good example of an independent American journalist who has been fooled by Republican Party billionaires to blame some amorphous mass of "leftists" is Sara A. Carters 12 January 2021 youtube "Rudy Giuliani talks big tech censorship", blaming Americas problems on "the government," or "the bureacracy," and, of course, especially on Democrats. At 10:15 there, she said "My mother fled from Cuba." Ms Carter, as a conservative, is so obsessed with her visceral hatred of "communism," that she interpreted Americas dictatorship as being communists, instead of as being billionaires - of both Parties: actually, fascists. In a two-Party fascist dictatorship, she fears the leftists. This is typical of propagandists on the conservative side. But propagandists on the liberal side (such as the CNN correspondent exemplified) are no better, just different.

Both propaganda-operations cast blame away from the real culprits.

In a two-Party dictatorship, the important truths are kept away from being publicized on either side. What the public sees and hears, instead, is political theater, merely tailored to different audiences.

Reprinted here from the "Strategic Culture Foundation" provides a platform for exclusive analysis, research and policy comment on Eurasian and global affairs. We are covering political, economic, social and security issues worldwide. Since 2005 our journal has published thousands of analytical briefs and commentaries with the unique perspective of independent contributors. SCF works to broaden and diversify expert discussion by focusing on hidden aspects of international politics and unconventional thinking. Benefiting from the expanding power of the Internet, we work to spread reliable information, critical thought and progressive ideas.