I agree with the first point but Rishi definitely isn’t the first kleptrocrat in the job (he might be the richest, but not the first), we have a glorious (/s) history of being ruled over by the rich and privileged (not only in parliament, but the rest of government and of course the royals).
You are correct in essence, I was taking a bit of a shortcut, but Rishi is definately unique in that he is a step up in wealth compared to the traditional Old Boys Network. Ironically that’s the only level up the UK has accomplished since Boris XD
So yes, the rich and privileged have always been the ruling class, once the Millionaires get replaced by billionaires the rules, and playing field, changes dramatically.
I don’t disagree, maybe I’m just more cynical about how bad it has been already, millionaire, billionaire, both are so many magnitudes of wealth above what we’ll ever have, and are both as disconnected from the rest of us, not to mention both are already funded by and/or are otherwise in bed with the billionaires that aren’t in government, so it doesn’t feel like this is the big shift that’ll make the difference.
Oh, it was bad already. But what most people do not realize how far removed from the “real” world that you, me and yes-millionaires inhabit the multibillionaires are. The “out of touch” elite of the old rich and powerful did exist in the same framework we did. The megarich do not.
The difference between indirect influence and direct power might seem trivial but I am convinced it’s not just fundamentally different but also potentially catastrophic as they might as well be a different species from us for all practical purposes and to have them make decisions that directly influence our lifes but not theirs is Kafkaesque.
I agree with the first point but Rishi definitely isn’t the first kleptrocrat in the job (he might be the richest, but not the first), we have a glorious (/s) history of being ruled over by the rich and privileged (not only in parliament, but the rest of government and of course the royals).
You are correct in essence, I was taking a bit of a shortcut, but Rishi is definately unique in that he is a step up in wealth compared to the traditional Old Boys Network. Ironically that’s the only level up the UK has accomplished since Boris XD
So yes, the rich and privileged have always been the ruling class, once the Millionaires get replaced by billionaires the rules, and playing field, changes dramatically.
I don’t disagree, maybe I’m just more cynical about how bad it has been already, millionaire, billionaire, both are so many magnitudes of wealth above what we’ll ever have, and are both as disconnected from the rest of us, not to mention both are already funded by and/or are otherwise in bed with the billionaires that aren’t in government, so it doesn’t feel like this is the big shift that’ll make the difference.
Oh, it was bad already. But what most people do not realize how far removed from the “real” world that you, me and yes-millionaires inhabit the multibillionaires are. The “out of touch” elite of the old rich and powerful did exist in the same framework we did. The megarich do not. The difference between indirect influence and direct power might seem trivial but I am convinced it’s not just fundamentally different but also potentially catastrophic as they might as well be a different species from us for all practical purposes and to have them make decisions that directly influence our lifes but not theirs is Kafkaesque.