In a world where the 1% own half of humanity's wealth, democracy isn't an endangered species, it's as extinct as the dodo.

Maybe it is because summer is ending, but a migration of X users outraged that its social media platform owner is both racist and fascist started this week. I understand why people want to abandon X because each moment on it, like all social media platforms, is a visit to a circle of hell or, at best, an interlude in purgatory. There is a stench of damnation on X because no fact presented feels trustworthy, and gaslighting is considered acceptable discourse.

Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash

However, leaving X unless- you are prepared to go off the grid is performative and meaningless. When users leave X because it's run by an authoritarian fascist, they can only decamp to use another social media platform also run by someone, who is an authoritarian fascist. You don't escape fascism by leaving Hitler's Germany to go live in Mussolini's Italy or Franco's Spain. You stay either on X as an opportunist or as resister, trying to sabotage the platform's undeclared mission statement to bring about authoritarianism.    

I have remained on X because outside of Sub Stack, there is no place to get my message out besides investing in a sandwich board and bell. Although my socialist message is being transmitted to a smaller and smaller circle of people because algorithms are manipulated on X to thwart the free flow of honest ideas.

There's a hollowness to X and every other social media platform because it's not the agora of the ancient world or the Algonquin Round Table of the 20th century. It's Vegas where the house- meaning the billionaires who own these platforms always win.

The tech oligarchs built these platforms that became, by design or error, a scaffold to hang, draw and quarter democracy. X, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok- like much of today's politics, business and news media- are manipulated by bad-faith actors commanded under payments from the 1% to vandalise society and do irreparable damage to humanity.

After last week's riots in England and Northern Ireland, by Islamophobic fascists out to harm Muslims and refugees, the status quo looked for scapegoats to blame rather than the established news media and neoliberal politics that have demonised refugees and immigration for the last fifty years. Those institutions normalised xenophobia but pretended to be aghast when fascism took advantage of it. It was similar to Captain Reynaud's shock to find gambling being conducted at Rick's café, in the movie Casablanca.

Keir Starmer put much of the blame on Musk, who is a fascist, a racist, and a billionaire seeking to create an authoritarian world through X. He's an all-around shit like every billionaire because none of them believes in democracy, the welfare state or dignity for those without wealth. But Starmer, who is not a billionaire- is also a shit and not a believer in democracy if it involves the Welfare State and the full participation of all citizens- not just its top income earners.

Faux outrage was levelled at Musk by neoliberal politicians because they have a symbiotic relationship with these modern-day robber barons. Politicians instead of wealth taxing Musk or the rest of the billionaires, threaten hearings and possible sanctions against social media platforms for being petri dishes to breed fascism. It keeps their base happy and under the impression that the status quo will eventually get around to sorting out the inequalities in society whilst the rich get to keep the loot they've stolen through unfair monopolies, government subsidies and immoral business practices.

Capitalism like organised religion is a system of control that benefits handsomely the least amount of people while promising the rest a reward of either earthly paradise through hard work or a heavenly afterlife for being obediently virtuous on earth

There are no good billionaires because they are warlords who don't need a gun or a sword to terrorise society just unlimited wealth to own the news media and- bought politicians to do their dirty work.

Unless we put an end to neoliberalism, billionaires will continue to abuse, enslave and manipulate those without their wealth. Neoliberalism has never levelled a substantive tax against rich citizens and the corporations they own. 

In a world where the 1% own half of humanity's wealth, democracy isn't an endangered species, it's as extinct as the dodo. The choice is simple but difficult to achieve either- we rebel against present-day politics or be used as raw material to enrich the profits of the few. The time when voting for the least evil candidate is over because by doing that we perpetuate our enslavement to a system that will ultimately grind us all into dust.

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The fight to keep going was made worse- thanks to getting cancer along with lung disease and other co- morbidities which makes life more difficult to combat in these cost of living crisis times. So if you can join with a paid subscription which is just 3.50 a month or a yearly subscription or a gift subscription. I am offering a 20% reduction in a yearly subscription to ensure my prescriptions can be purchased today. One new subscriber covers that cost. I promise the content is good, relevant and thoughtful. But if you can’t it all good too because I appreciate we are in the same boat. Take Care, John