My Closing Argument: Worried About the Economy? Don't Vote For Oligarchy
If talk of democracy and fascism is too abstract for you, here's a practical fact: Trump's oligarchy will make you poorer.
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ALEX’S WEEKLY RANT
Two articles caught my eye this week. They are separately reported, separately presented, but in my mind, they go hand in hand.
The first, from Politico, claims Kamala Harris’s message that Donald Trump is a fascist who will destroy democracy is falling flat with voters. For many, lofty talk about ideals and values is too amorphous to grasp. As Politico reports:
Voters, [some Democrats] argue, have grown desensitized to Trump and the warnings about him. Polls not only show the economy remains the top concern here, but that Trump holds the advantage on it.
The second, also from Politico, is an interview with former Trump adviser and Russia expert Fiona Hill. In it, Hill explains how Trump and his coterie of billionaires will, if he is elected, usher in a new era of fascism and oligarchy in the US.
As Hill makes clear, fascism—and the oligarchy it sustains— is very much linked to the economy. In an oligarchy, the leader must keep a small group around him happy. His own power depends on it. That small group, in return, supports the dear leader. The rest of the people don't matter. At all.
As Hill puts it:
“The essence of an oligarchy is the mutually reinforcing interests of a class of people in business and people in power working together to keep society under control. ...They seek control of all of the assets. They focus on power and the economy and on profit and their personal prosperity, rather than the prosperity of the country and its citizens writ large.”
Access to the economy—opening a small business, for example—is no longer a thing for ordinary people. Only those with proximity to power can flourish, because it is those relationships that allow any business to happen at all. The rest of us get squeezed out.
There is no doubt Trump will head an oligarchy. Elon Musk is actively supporting him (financially, and through the information sphere). Jeff Bezos chose to kiss the ring this past week by putting the kibosh on the Washington Post’s endorsement of Harris. Many of Trump’s largest donors and biggest supporters are billionaires. That is oligarchy waiting in the wings.
While I understand that talk about saving democracy and stopping fascism is too abstract for some voters, those issues are directly tied to the economic issues they profess to care about.
Here's a closing argument: if you think wealth inequality is bad now, it will be way worse under Trump.
Look at Russia, a classic oligarchy. Before the war, 98 Russians held more wealth than all other Russians combined. That's why you have 25% of Russians with no indoor plumbing, while Roman Abramovich owns more than a billion dollars worth of yachts (not to mention all his other assets!). So when we talk about fascism, we are also talking about economic inequality. For more on this dynamic, see Class 2, and remember that Trump looks to emulate Putin. He thinks the way Putin runs things is pretty swell.
One last point: oligarchies exist under more autocratic governments. Autocrats do not usually come into power by force. Rather, the people cede power to the autocrat. It’s never as dramatic as we like to think of it. It’s a slow grind of sitting back, keeping quiet, choosing not to engage. Obeying in advance, as historian Timothy Snyder has put it. What is democracy? Rule by the people. If people choose not to engage, it is no longer a democracy.
If that is too abstract a concept for you: vote for your wallet, so the oligarchs don’t squeeze you out of the market.
And there endeth the Rant!
Go vote.
THE WEEK’S LINKS
A roundup of things you should be reading
COUNTERING FOREIGN INFLUENCE
State Department’s little-known weapon for countering foreign disinformation faces uncertain future (Politico)
OLIGARCHY
Musk’s Twitter Buy Makes No Sense - Unless It’s Part of Something Bigger (Byline Times)
RUSSIA AT WAR WITH THE WEST
Russia Provided Targeting Data for Houthi Assault on Global Shipping (Wall Street Journal)
Alex Finley is a former officer of the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, where she served in West Africa and Europe. She writes and teaches about terrorism, disinformation / covert influence, and oligarch yachts. Her writing has appeared in Slate, Reductress, Funny or Die, POLITICO, The Center for Public Integrity, and other publications. She has spoken to the BBC, MSNBC, CNN, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, France24, and numerous other media outlets. She was also invited once to speak at Harvard, which she now tells everyone within the first ten seconds of meeting them. She is the author of the Victor Caro series, satirical novels about the CIA. Before joining the CIA, Alex was a journalist, covering Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, and the Department of Energy. She reported on issues related to national security, intelligence, and homeland security. Did she mention she was invited to speak at Harvard?
