You know, when did I first start thinking about the possibility of a small group of individuals pretty much running the whole world? It was during the time when I (along with a lot of my friends) lost a significant chunk of our hard earned earning betting on the hyped up stocks on the Wall Street. We wanted someone to blame for our losses and we, rather than blaming our greed, conveniently blamed it all on the bubble and then subsequently to Allan Greenspan for bursting that bubble. We collectively blamed a single guy for evaporating trillions of dollars from the market, our pockets and the economy – “Could a single guy posses such power?” We wondered. And if this is true – who controls such person and “could the decisions made by such person be modified based on political and personal objectives?” Then came Greenspan’s book and him telling of how the current White House (2004-2008) was the most intrusive when it came to deciding the fed market policies. Wow .. I wondered, so the power is concentrated with a few and the political elites do use or abuse it for furthering their own agendas … I don’t claim to be naive here – I had an inkling – I don’t wear any idealistic glasses when I look at the real world – but this is hard fact, as told by one of “those” (in the know). And then came this book – writing about this phenomenon in black and white. Now, after reading this book, when I think of the past events and read current news, I can now almost find artifacts to substantiate the above theory all over the news articles.
Now lets come to the stock market these days (June 2008) – How could it be? that the stock market keeps doing the roller-coater ride for the past 8 years and all the reporting in the news paper and in the financial magazine is that – its because the “job market lost jobs” or “consumer spending is low” or “consumer sentiments are low” or “the price of oil is a bit higher”. I agree that these factors do play a role on the market but how could the “consumer sentiments” be low one day and a big Markey hurray the next – Something is not right – The market is moving too fact and all the financial reports are left with is the weaker argument of all the quotes above. These can’t be freak accidents, because freak accidents do not happen on a daily basis – like the ones reported lately. There are a group of individuals – not conspiring, but acting in their own interest and using their enormous influence fulfill their goals (The oil companies, or the oil future’s traders). Meanwhile, us, the middle class, is left hanging watching the stock market like a dog following the tennis ball on the court while paying $4 a gallon for gasoline.
Getting back to the book – here is a book that we can all relate with. A book, finally, that dares to expose the big elephant in the room. The emperor REALLY is not wearing any clothes … Long a favorite subject pushed along by conspiracy theorists; here is a well researched book right from the middle of this class that not only does exist but pretty much runs the whole world (The author speculates about 6000 of them around the world) … Reading this book was equivalent of someone giving me a code to see the world differently. And seeing the world, now, decoded, it does look different. Specifically, the book first outlines the fact that this class does exist, they do meet on a regular basis (be at DAVOS, or trilateral commission or other Asian or European Elite clubs) and divide up the pie conveniently between them. The underlying assertion here is that this group pretty much looks after their own need and greed and cares a little for the rest of us (Apparently 10% of the folks on top control 90% of the wealth). The book also mentions that the Superclass is a close community but a dynamic one – You may become a part of it if you control the lives of “many” human beings. The book gives laws for being a part of the superclass – and they are no means politically correct – Some of them include – “You have to be a man”, “You have to me Anglo Saxon” “You should attend Harvard, Stanford or University of Chicago” and “You have to be lucky” among others. A nicely written book and a real eye opener – Verbalizes every aspects of the social structure that you sort of perceive and assume conspiracy theories around it – and at the same time provides a good understanding of the superclass elite; their strengths – their weaknesses – etc.
A DEFINITE MUST READ. The book also asserts that the world has become a different place after the “globalization” phenomenon has reached its peak. As a result of this, the national boundaries do not matter anymore – And the whole world has to comply by the rules set by a few multinationals and a few political elites in the top tear of the countries around the world. These developments, the author mentions has reduced the size of the middle class around the word. As we all know, a larger middle class in the society is good for democracy – The larger the gap between the “haves” and “have wanna be” – the more autocratic society gets and at the end of the day a mass of people suffer which inevitably leads to revolutions. It is Mary Antoinette’s “If you don’t have bread to eat – then eat cake” scenario approaching closer day by day.
As I read this book, I felt like this world has evolved into an equivalent of an Indian CASTE system – If you are born poor or a middle class – there is a high probability that the “system” would try to keep you that way … And vice versa if you are born rich. So, rather than being classified (casted) based on what you do – you are currently being casted based on what you possess. I got a first hand feel of this when I walked in posh clothing shop in Beverly Hills (in my Jeans and T’s) and the looks on the girls behind the counter pretty much gave it away – Now I know how a low caste person entering a higher caste temple in India felt like …
At the end of the day – I drew the same conclusion that I drew on multiple occasions when I pondered similar questions about the fate of our world – It is really up to us, the people, to come together and collectively make the right decision about our lives. Decision made under fear (for example another terrorist attack or gasoline prices) often leads to wrong people in the positions that make the highest impact in the world. This country of ours offers great opportunity for folks to appropriately use their vote and chose the right people in the political office to do the right thing – if we don’t use it wisely, then collectively, we deserve what coming to us … God Bless us all …
Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making