Much ado about nothing
There is no getting around about the fact the US is an oligarchy
If there is still any residual illusion among some Chinese that the US is a “democracy” to be replicated, the passenger list on Air Force One puts that to rest for good.
Chinese netizens have noticed there are 5 billionaires among the 17 corporate chieftains accompanying Trump to Beijing – Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Jensen Huang, Larry Fink (Blackrock), and Steve Schwarzman (Blackstone).
According to Forbes, there are between 12 to 15 billionaires among Trump’s cabinet members and advisors, not including Trump himself.
The delegation to Beijing represents the interest of Corporate America at the most elite level from tech (Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Micron, Qualcomm) to Wall Street (Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Visa, Blackrock) to Big Ag and aerospace (Cargill, Boeing, GE Aerospace).
These celebrity/billionaire CEOs are not your average corporate worker bees on the trip to do a few deals. They are the literal ruling class of the US.
The US government today is captured by oligarchic interest thoroughly. It is led by a real estate billionaire who is getting richer through crypto deals, insider trading, and various “pay to play” schemes.
The state exists to serve the interests of these oligarchs.
Beijing also invited several high-profile business executives to the state dinner including Lei Jun (Xiaomi), Liang Rubo (ByteDance), Yang Yuanqing (Lenovo), and Cao Hui (Fuyao Glass).
These are also self-made billionaires, but none has any political influence over Xi or the Chinese government.
They have no conduits to power such as lobbies, think tanks, political donations, and SuperPACs.
There was a time when some Chinese lived with the illusion that “democracy” is better than one party rule and the US is a democracy.
But “rule by the rich” is plutocracy, not a democracy. The two don’t co-exist, meaning you cannot be a plutocracy and a democracy at the same time.
Trump’s merry gang of bandits on Air Force One has shown to these unsuspecting Chinese who really rule the US.
It makes one wonder – who is thinking now it is better to be ruled by Trump, Larry Fink, and Elon Musk than by Xi and the CPC?
