Giants: The Global Power Elite - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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#14975874


Who holds the purse strings to the majority of the world’s wealth? There is a new global elite at the controls of our economic future, and here former Project Censored director and media monitoring sociologist Peter Phillips unveils for the general reader just who these players are. The book includes such power players as Larry Fink, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimon, and Warren Buffett.

As the number of men with as much wealth as half the world fell from sixty-two to just eight between January 2016 and January 2017, according to Oxfam International, fewer than 200 super-connected asset managers at only 17 asset management firms—each with well over a trillion dollars in assets under management–now represent the financial core of the world’s transnational capitalist class. Members of the global power elite are the management–the facilitors–of world capitalism, the firewall protecting the capital investment, growth, and debt collection that keeps the status quo from changing. Each chapter in Giants identifies by name the members of this international club of multi-millionaires, their 17 global financial companies—and including NGOs such as the Group of Thirty and the Trilateral Commission—and their transnational military protectors, so the reader, for the first time anywhere, can identify who constitutes this network of influence, where the wealth is concentrated, how it suppresses social movements, and how it can be redistributed for maximum systemic change.

“This book will be a blockbuster. Looking very forward to using it in my courses and circulating it through my lists.” William I. Robinson Professor of Sociology, University of California Santa Barbara

“This book is a must read for community college and university students. Phillips’ Giantsis a much-needed book for our times.” Mickey Huff, director of Project Censored; professor of social science and history, Diablo Valley College

“This remarkable inquiry lifts the veil, providing detailed and often shocking revelations about the astonishing concentration of private wealth and corporate power, its institutions and integrated structure – and not least, its threat to civilized and humane existence.” Noam Chomsky, Emeritus Professor of MIT

“This book is a fearless expose of the ascendancy of a class of global elites and the power they wield around the world.” Robin Andersen, Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Fordham University

“Peter Phillips thoroughly identifies the members of the “transnational capitalist class” that largely runs the world today, through the mammoth instruments of Western military force, and the international intelligence community, and—not least—our free press.” Mark Crispin Miller PhD, Professor of Media Studies, New York University



“Adam Smith warned that the “masters of mankind” will pursue their “vile maxim: All for
ourselves, and nothing for other people.” There could hardly be a more apt description of the recent era of savage capitalism, straining for new heights under cover of Trump’s antics. Who exactly are the masters? This remarkable inquiry lifts the veil, providing detailed and often shocking revelations about the astonishing concentration of private wealth and corporate power, its institutions and integrated structure – and not least, its threat to civilized and humane existence.”
Noam Chomsky, Emeritus Professor of MIT

#14975892
I will definitely buy this book before leaving. For sure.

I wonder what he proposes that needs to be done to rectify the inequality? Did you read it yet @Sivad .
#14975893
Tainari88 wrote:I will definitely buy this book before leaving. For sure.

I wonder what he proposes that needs to be done to rectify the inequality? Did you read it yet @Sivad .



I haven't read it yet but his solution, which is the only real solution, is radical democratization.
#14975895
Sivad wrote:I haven't read it yet but his solution, which is the only real solution, is radical democratization.


Thanks for letting me know not to waste my time. The same trend has existed in every society under every form of government. If he thinks a form of government is the problem, then he doesn’t have a clue.

Edit: Sorry @Sivad . I should not be dismissive without reading it. It just struck me as ‘sensationalism’ I have read many times before. Writing about the rich and famous all too often is just a money making gimmick.
Last edited by One Degree on 27 Dec 2018 21:33, edited 1 time in total.
#14975900
Sivad wrote:I haven't read it yet but his solution, which is the only real solution, is radical democratization.


How does one go about radically democratizing? I ask this knowing the answer because Richard Wolff already touched on that. But what does the author propose?
#14975910
Tainari88 wrote:How does one go about radically democratizing? I ask this knowing the answer because Richard Wolff already touched on that. But what does the author propose?


He talks a lot about supporting all the democracy movements around the world but I don't know for sure what his specific ideology is. If it's some form of state socialism then :knife: , but he seems pretty reasonable so I'm thinking he's probably some kind of libertarian social democrat.
#14978947
‘Davos Man’

The phrase "Davos Man" was credited to Samuel P. Huntington, a political scientist who spent the majority of his working life at Harvard University. In 2004, he wrote a paper about elites and "an emerging global superclass" of "Davos men" or "gold-collar workers."

"The rewards of an increasingly integrated global economy have brought forth a new global elite. Labeled 'Davos Men,' 'gold-collar workers' or… 'cosmocrats', this emerging class is empowered by new notions of global connectedness. It includes academics, international civil servants and executives in global companies, as well as successful high-technology entrepreneurs," Huntington wrote, citing an estimation that this elite would total 40 million people by 2010.

He said such global elites "have little need for national loyalty, view national boundaries as obstacles that thankfully are vanishing, and see national governments as residues from the past whose only useful function is to facilitate the elite's global operations."

Huntington added that such individuals were defined by their "involvement in transnational institutions, networks and activities" and that "someone whose loyalties, identities and involvements are purely national is less likely to rise to the top in business, academia, the media and the professions than someone who transcends these limits."
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/19/who-are ... woman.html



Dead Souls: The Denationalization of the American Elite
Samuel P. Huntington

March 1, 2004
#14999624
Elite theory
In political science and sociology, elite theory is a theory of the state that seeks to describe and explain power relationships in contemporary society. The theory posits that a small minority, consisting of members of the economic elite and policy-planning networks, holds the most power—and that this power is independent of democratic elections.[1] Through positions in corporations or on corporate boards, and influence over policy-planning networks through financial support of foundations or positions with think tanks or policy-discussion groups, members of the "elite" exert significant power over corporate and government decisions. An example of this belief is in the Forbes magazine article (published in December 2009) entitled The World's Most Powerful People, in which Forbes purported to list the 67 most powerful people in the world (assigning one "slot" for each 100,000,000 of human population). The basic characteristics of this theory are that power is concentrated, the elites are unified, the non-elites are diverse and powerless, elites' interests are unified due to common backgrounds and positions and the defining characteristic of power is institutional position.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_theory
#15001253
Truth To Power wrote:The moment he started nattering about CO2 causing human extinction, I knew he was just another moron.


If I dismissed everyone who held an idiotic opinion there wouldn't be anyone on earth to make common cause with. I only write off the people that are consistently full of shit on every single thing. A lot of people I respect overall have some truly idiotic opinions and beliefs, I don't give them any quarter when it comes to the bullshit but I still have a basic respect for what they're about.
#15001833
The late Georgetown University Professor Carroll Quigley, a mentor to President Bill Clinton, was for many years close to the core of the [international transpartisan elite syndicate], and, while he disagreed with the secrecy, he admitted to agreeing with most of its aims. He was even allowed to examine their records for a period of time. And then, spilling the proverbial beans, Quigley put some of his explosive findings in his massive 1966 book Tragedy and Hope. Referring to the Syndicate as an “international Anglophile network,” the professor said he had “no aversion to it or to most of its aims,” and added that he had been “close to it and many of its instruments” for much of his life.

On political parties and using elections to change course in government, Quigley ridiculed the idea. “The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers,” Quigley wrote in his book, which reportedly made the Syndicate quite upset. “Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can ‘throw the rascals out’ at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy.”

Quigley also offered insight into the agenda and machinations of the Syndicate. “The powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole,” he explained. “This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences.” Some of those meetings, such as the G20, are well known. Others, while even more important, are almost never mentioned, and remained virtually unknown to most Americans.

There exists a shadowy network of organizations controlled by the Syndicate that serves to coordinate the operations and tentacles of the machine. While secretive, many of the outfits are not secret societies in the true sense of the term. In fact, they have websites, put out reports, and in many cases make their membership lists public. That these organizations wield incredible power in government, media, academia, military, banking, intelligence, business, and more is beyond dispute.

Council on Foreign Relations

What Professor Quigley revealed in Tragedy and Hope was huge. “There does exist, and has existed for a generation, an international Anglophile network which operates, to some extent, in the way the radical Right believes the Communists act,” Quigley wrote in his book. “In fact, this network, which we may identify as the Round Table Groups, has no aversion to cooperating with the Communists, or any other groups, and frequently does so.” The leading Round Table Groups he identifies include the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in the United States and its sister organization in Britain known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA,or the Chatham House).


In this interview Carroll discusses a variety of topics relating to his books, including the way his book was censored by maintream publishers Who was Carroll Quiqley A very respected Historian at both Harvard and Princeton Universities in America. He was the author of several books, including the huge 1966 publication titled 'Tragery & Hope - A History Of The World in Our Time'.


Quigley states that he has recently been in direct contact with this organization, whose nature he contrasts to right-wing claims of a communist conspiracy:

"This radical Right fairy tale, which is now an accepted folk myth in many groups in America, pictured the recent history of the United States, in regard to domestic reform and in foreign affairs, as a well-organized plot by extreme Left-wing elements ... This myth, like all fables, does in fact have a modicum of truth. There does exist, and has existed for a generation, an international Anglophile network which operates, to some extent, in the way the Radical right believes the Communists act. In fact, this network, which we may identify as the Round Table Groups, has no aversion to cooperating with the Communists, or any other group, and frequently does so. I know of the operation of this network because I have studied it for twenty years and was permitted for two years, in the early 1960s, to examine its papers and secret records. I have no aversion to it or to most of its aims and have, for much of my life, been close to it and to many of its instruments. I have objected, both in the past and recently, to a few of its policies... but in general my chief difference of opinion is that it wishes to remain unknown, and I believe its role in history is significant enough to be known."


The society consisted of an inner circle ("The Society of the Elect") and an outer circle ("The Association of Helpers", also known as The Milner Kindergarten and the Round Table Group).[24] The society as a whole does not have a fixed name:

"This society has been known at various times as Milner's Kindergarten, as the Round Table Group, as the Rhodes crowd, as The Times crowd, as the All Souls group, and as the Cliveden set. ... I have chosen to call it the Milner group. Those persons who have used the other terms, or heard them used, have not generally been aware that all these various terms referred to the same Group...this Group is, as I shall show, one of the most important historical facts of the twentieth century."
#15001836
"The financial circles of London and those of the eastern United States…reflects one of the most powerful influences in the twentieth-century American and world history. The two ends of this English-speaking axis have sometimes been called, perhaps facetiously, the English and American Establishments. There is, however, a considerable degree of truth behind the joke, a truth which reflects a very real power structure. It is this power structure which the Radical Right in the United States has been attacking for years in the belief that they are attacking the Communists."
#15001876
Sivad wrote:"The financial circles of London and those of the eastern United States…reflects one of the most powerful influences in the twentieth-century American and world history. The two ends of this English-speaking axis have sometimes been called, perhaps facetiously, the English and American Establishments. There is, however, a considerable degree of truth behind the joke, a truth which reflects a very real power structure. It is this power structure which the Radical Right in the United States has been attacking for years in the belief that they are attacking the Communists."


It hasn't been about the communists for a long time. The Soviet Union "fell" because its intelligentsia and apparatchik class simply lost faith in communist ideals. Half a century after the Kronstadt Rebellion, no one was under the illusion that power would be returned to the hands of worker soviets. The Soviet Union was just an empty shell ready to collapse - just like the US is rapidly becoming. One might say that Obama was the US's Gorbachev, and Trump it's Yeltsin. I don't want to push this analogy too far; it's enough to note that the general public has lost its faith in the nation's institutions, in what appears to be an irrecoverable fashion.
#15001880
quetzalcoatl wrote:it's enough to note that the general public has lost its faith in the nation's institutions, in what appears to be an irrecoverable fashion.

There is no one general public. If anything there are (at least) two completely different and mutually hostile publics. Half the country lost its faith in the nation's institutions in 2016 but the other half regained its faith. The Dems are still devoted to CNN, the Reps still have Fox to be the lone voice of reason in the cacophony. There is a lot of faith still but it is split between two mutually hostile tribes.
#15001881
SolarCross wrote:There is no one general public. If anything there are (at least) two completely different and mutually hostile publics. Half the country lost its faith in the nation's institutions in 2016 but the other half regained its faith. The Dems are still devoted to CNN, the Reps still have Fox to be the lone voice of reason in the cacophony. There is a lot of faith still but it is split between two mutually hostile tribes.


CNN and Fox are both Lie Factories. The red tribe never had any faith in the US, only its own tribe. I don't criticize this, they are acting in what they perceive as their interests. Let's don't pretend, however, that either Fox or CNN represents anything other than the interests of the corporate elite who run them. Also, please let's not pretend that either Trump Nation or the HillCult have any interest whatsoever in returning to a constitutional republic or representative democracy. They just don't.
#15105912
As far as I understand, their power comes from money. Thus I guess if we all just stopped giving money such a high value, these dudes are done. I mena in a world which the global economy has collapsed, these guys are done. If everyone started acting and making decisions according to who they think is right or good, then these "elites" will just be some bunch of nerds with no life.
That's also reason world wars don't happen any more and they try to control wars in the west. The way I see it, in order for real equality to come back again we need either a radical revolution similar to the French one of 1789 or a world war which will bring anarchy and then built up again (what Einstein said, world war 4 will be fought with sticks and stones). It might sound a bit extreme, but that's what it take sto get rid of those nerds and live actually free.
Down with capitalism down with communism down with any ideology, if you people are truly sick of those "lizards" controlling you then temporary anarchism is the way.

I'm not talking about living in complete anarchy, but demolish the current system and start again builtin it up without repeating mistakes of the past

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