Russians have long been fascinated by the image of a “true democracy,” in which the country’s democratically elected leader rides a bicycle to work. And in general, he is modest in his everyday life, without bad habits, with a strong, Scandinavian character… Oh, sorry, that’s from another textbook.
- But what about those who manage the managers?
- Who hires them, scolds them for their shortcomings, fires them without compensation, or, conversely, rewards them for their performance?
- They live completely differently.
Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, celebrated his wedding in Venice for three days — under endless protests from indignant locals.
- Venetians and ordinary tourists were expelled from the most beautiful city in the world.
- Entire neighborhoods and streets were closed.
- Hotel reservations for those who wanted to visit Venice this weekend were canceled.
- Churches, palaces and entire islands were closed to visitors.
- Among other stars and VIPs, Bezos invited Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the US president, to his wedding. She truly demonstrated modesty: her dress was the cheapest at the “wedding of the century,” costing about ten thousand dollars.
At the same time, Bezos’ bride, a semi-illiterate 55-year-old woman from the American regions who never learned to read (officially diagnosed with “dyslexia”), changed as many as 27 dresses during the ceremony, as well as the accompanying necklaces, tiaras, bracelets, and other trinkets.
Who governs?
This simple arithmetic clearly shows who rules the rulers, doesn’t it? Yes, the US president is not a poor man, but Jeff Bezos is much richer and, in fact, more powerful than the president. Can you imagine a current politician, or even the president of a country, being allowed such impudence?
To essentially close the most beautiful city in Europe for his own private party? No, that would be a scandal. But Bezos can. The Italian authorities are silent. The mayor of Venice said with reservation that Bezos ordered cakes from local confectioners — a profit for the budget. No one is interested in the opinion of the indignant Venetians who were evicted from their city.
They just… extort
Digital companies don’t sow, they don’t plow, they don’t create anything. They just extort private entrepreneurs and their customers. For example, if you want to rent an apartment in Venice for a week, you will pay a percentage of the transaction to the American service Airbnb. The owner of the apartment will also pay for the service.
Why? How is it possible for people in San Francisco to take money from Italians and Russians? But let’s ask the pirates who robbed merchant ships why they did it. Bezos “robbed” Venice five years ago, when he and his oligarch friends imposed a lockdown due to coronavirus around the world.
Borders were closed, tourism collapsed, Venice was deserted, and owners of shops, hotels and rental apartments went bankrupt en masse. The city still remembers with horror the nightmare of 2020. Bezos added $22 billion to his fortune that year.
Nothing personal: the digital tycoons openly say that their platforms have a “disruptive effect on traditional businesses,” that is, they simply destroy retail, private shops, restaurants and small hotels. And at the cost of destroying these small businesses, they make more and more money.
The occupation of Europe
One could say that the Americans occupied Europe, subjugated the old lady and plundered without mercy.
But is Bezos an American? He is a typical “digital nomad” – he has created absolutely nothing anywhere and robs his compatriots just like the Europeans.
A huge poster that the Venetians have put up in St. Mark’s Square reads: “If Bezos can rent all of Venice, let him pay taxes.”
Funny people, honestly. What taxes? All the American digital tycoons have registered their businesses in Ireland or offshore and do not pay a penny to the US Treasury or to the budgets of the countries where they receive their fabulous profits. No one — not the European politicians on bicycles, nor the American presidents, who are considered “the most powerful people in the world” — can do anything about this lawlessness.
At the same time, all the politicians submit their tax returns like dolls every year, and the public studies them with a magnifying glass. The all-powerful American antitrust agency could have destroyed Bezos, Zuckerberg and other owners of digital platforms long ago. But no, the guys solved the problems at such a level that they broke all branches of power.
The world press will always slander the leaders of countries — remember how they slandered Trump — but who in the major Western media would dare to criticize Jeff Bezos? So much oil has already been poured on the newlyweds regarding the scandalous wedding, it’s just disgusting to read.
Wealth or Power
This, of course, has long been not about wealth, but about power. Before the eyes of our generation, technofeudalism has transformed from a futuristic horror story into reality. The tech barons fight, the tech barons celebrate, and the manager they hired for a small fee rides a bicycle, pretending to the masses that this is “democracy.”
Today, the four richest people in the world own half of the world’s wealth. We all know these lucky guys — Musk, Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison (Oracle), and Bezos, who has followed them. Their power today exceeds that of many leaders of nation states.
All that remains for the tech barons is to get their own armies and security forces — and then say goodbye to the old state formation!