An Open Letter to a Plutocrat
Dear Mr./Ms. Plutocrat:
This letter is to warn you that soon, very soon, the pitchforks will be coming for you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow maybe not even next year. But soon, sooner than you expect, the pitchforks will be headed your way.
For you see, there is only so much economic and social inequality that the ordinary person can handle. And what holds true for individuals also holds true for societies.
Lest you think I am hitting the panic button, please view the following TedTalk which is about 20 minutes long. A plutocrat warns his fellow plutocrats about the upcoming danger.
http://youtu.be/q2gO4DKVpa8
Unless you change your assumptions, your beliefs and your behavior, the pitchforks will eventually be knocking on your door.
There is a wealth Gini coefficient which measures inequality. Historically, any country that exceeded 50 generally had revolt in the streets. For example, before the 1789 French Revolution the Gini coefficient was 59.5. Rome according to historians recorded a coefficient of 44.
Fortune Magazine said the following:
For the first time in this report series, Allianz calculated each country’s wealth Gini coefficient—a measure of inequality in which 0 is perfect equality and 100 would mean perfect inequality, or one person owning all the wealth.
In a moment I will share the United States score. But first, know two things: first, I hope this can be avoided. Second, if this inequity is not reversed, there will be one of two outcomes, revolution or a police state.
If there is a revolution, known that all the gated communities and security forces in the world will not protect you when the pitchforks seek you out.
Again from the Fortune report:
It found that the U.S. had the most wealth inequality, with a score of 80.56, showing the most concentration of overall wealth in the hands of the proportionately fewest people.
Please be warned
I have known of this situation for some time. Another article about three years ago pointed to the same conclusion. The stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent recession headed off a similar uprising in the roaring 20s. All the signs of prosperity that the plutocrats are touting point to the same conclusion.
I would send out the same warning to what used to be called the "silent majority." I read recently that roughly 60% of any population blindly follow what their leaders ask without question. While these people may be greatly affected by the abuse the plutocrats are heaping on them, they have some innate desire to be like those with wealth and power, and thereby support them, right or wrong.
Ron