We Killed Kings and Enacted Vast Revolutions for Far Less Than Our Current Plutarchy - Epilogue 4

Tracy Turner

When rich and powerful individuals feel above the law, they become all the more dangerous. History is a long list of untouchable rulers-feudal monarchs, imperial emperors, corporate oligarchs-who have wrung untold suffering on the masses. Arrogant, corrupt systems and “personalities” (mostly smug sociopaths) have been challenged by people with nothing to lose but their chains. Today, we must ask ourselves: Why, in this day and age, when knowledge, technology, and resources are so improved, do we still allow such an egregious injustice to persist? The answer lies in how we have allowed a global "Death Cult" to emerge: an elite, concentrated nexus of power, wealth, and control serving only itself.

It is not just a nexus of a few conspirators but an intrinsic machine for ecological devastation, social injustice, endless wars, and, finally, the plundering of humanity's future. History shows that when rulers become cruel and oppressive, moving society further ahead becomes possible only through the annulment of such power structures. And that is where the urgency of our moment comes in: the survival of many depends on the fall of a few. Its primary purpose is funneling more monopoly money to a few. Matthew 7:16-20:

"You will know them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

The Death Cult of Global Power

A "Death Cult" is not just a group that glorifies death but instead is a configuration that generates systems of domination that gradually wear away life itself. These structures of dominion perpetuate war, exploitation, surveillance, and environmental destruction.

The U.S. Empire is a modern manifestation of imperialism. It brings in its wake only devastation: shattered societies, stolen resources, and a global economy enriching handfuls of corporations while billions are left in poverty. However, the real culprits are not just the military-industrial complex or corrupt leaders. It is a system, a Death Cult fueled by greed, imperialism, and endless war.

As Naomi Klein so importantly details in The Shock Doctrine, the capitalist elite thrives on disaster: financial crises, wars, and upsets that cover up immense wealth transfers from poor to rich (Klein, 2007).

This is one sense in which the elite are not simply passive beneficiaries of chaos: they can design it. This world order is structured to shift wealth and power upwards, be it through corporate bailouts, military interventions, or resource exploitation, leaving the majority with nothing but desperation. Chris Hedges has documented this "Death Cult" too, underlining how plutocracy-a class of billionaire oligarchs-has hijacked democracy and replaced it with a system of corporate fascism (Hedges, 2019).

By manipulating mass media, lobbying, and clandestine operations, these elites use general instability to their advantage. A perfect example of such a trend can be found in the emergence of tech giants like Elon Musk, who made his fortune in industries ranging from space exploration to artificial intelligence. This indicates that a few have the majority of the wealth and power, and it is these few men who will decide upon the future of humanity. But perhaps most dangerous is the system's self-reinforcing nature.

As both Hedges and Klein make clear, these elites do not just seek to dominate the present; they are constructing a future. They are doing this, as Hedges puts it, through the domination of political systems, the manipulation of media narratives, and the concentration of economic power. It is this "Death Cult" that Chris Hedges warns us about: a world of perpetual war, ecological collapse, and surveillance capitalism populace-control, where even our thoughts and desires are up for sale. Elon Musk wishes to be The Robber Barons Dick Cheney and Carl Rove in 2024-2025 as his "futurist contribution." He's just another in a long lane of Robber Barons, a Western version of Netanyahu.

Zionism, the U.S.-Israel Alliance, and Imperial Control

The U.S.-Israel alliance represents the pivotal role of this "Death Cult" in maintaining global control in the oil-rich Middle East and Globally.

Zionism, through its militarized agenda, with close affiliation with the U.S. government, is used as an apparatus for projecting American imperialism in the region. As Paul Craig Roberts (2019) has pointed out, this alliance is far more than a military alliance; it is ideational and geopolitical, cementing American hegemony over the region, not least over its oil and other natural resources. Israel is strategically positioned to serve as the "enforcer" of U.S. imperial interests in an explosive region. Imperialism only leads to violence and instability in a spiral, serving as a veil for U.S. intervention and occupation. Empire Robber Barons are not only about military or political control; this situation has also emerged regarding the issue of economic exploitation: the Middle East mineral riches provide the underpinning to an international power configuration that very much includes Israel. Therefore, Naomi Klein's work featured in The Shock Doctrine is significantly related.

She argues that Israel's military campaigns, from Lebanon to Gaza, have often been about securing resource-rich regions and maintaining a steady flow of capital to the West (Klein, 2007). These are cloaked under the guise of self-defense or the promotion of stability. However, the reality behind such actions is rather insidious-they preserve an asymmetrical power structure beneficial to a small elite in the face of millions.

Hollywood: The Cultural Arm of Empire

While militarism is the "iron fist" of empire, Hollywood is its "velvet glove." The U.S. film industry is an integral part of the arsenal of the empire in sanitizing violence, glorifying war, and distorting history in such a way as to justify the actions of imperialism. Through its relationship with Hollywood, the military-industrial complex creates a national mythos of American exceptionalism wherein wars of aggression are portrayed as righteous crusades.

The sanitized version of the War on Terror-that is, heroic soldiers fighting for freedom and utterly ignoring the devastation wreaked on the people of Iraq and Afghanistan-was provided by such films as American Sniper and Zero Dark Thirty in the aftermath of the Iraq War.

The role of Hollywood here is not incidental. According to Chris Hedges, the media, including Hollywood, is a critical tool for the elite in maintaining the status quo, manipulating public opinion, and justifying violence (Hedges, 2019). This relationship is not limited to film content: the U.S. military often exerts firm control over representations of military conflict in return for granting Hollywood access to military resources and expert advice. Hence, the cultural power of Hollywood is marshaled in the interest of maintaining an imperial narrative for the "Death Cult" of global power. Not entertainment is here, but constructing realities where violence, war, and empire are normalized and glorified.

The Rise of AI: Surveillance and Mind Control

Perhaps the most insidious development of the modern "Death Cult," however, is related to the development and growth of artificial intelligence and surveillance capitalism. AI Predictive Analytics is an algorithm cooked up by tech giants via platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon that trace, influence, manipulate, and predict nearly everything in our daily lives to move money from the poor to the rich, consolidating power in a few hands while keeping majorities in a state of distraction and consumerism.

With his ventures in artificial intelligence and space colonization, Elon Musk is a key player in this new phase of global control. Musk's companies-SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, and OpenAI-have massive financial stakes in shaping the future of technology. But as critics like Cynthia McKinney have pointed out, Musk and other tech moguls are not just building futuristic utopias-they are constructing a digital surveillance state that erodes our privacy and autonomy (McKinney, 2020).

Musk's more recent undertakings, primarily through the group Neuralink, are highly distressing in this light.

With neural interfaces that link our brains straight to machines, the doors swing open on new modes of surveillance and control: our thoughts, wishes, and actions are entirely subjected to monitoring, manipulation, and commodification beyond our wildest imagination. As Naomi Klein warns, the real power in the future will lie in the control of information-and AI is the most potent tool yet devised for this purpose (Klein, 2020). This brings us to a critical question: Is Elon Musk the trigger that sets a new kind of Revolution into motion?

Is he the single match that lights the fuse of a revolution born not of arms but of technology? While Musk's innovations might be characterized as revolutionary, they act concurrently as part of social control-something which The People's Voice editor Sky Ebbets (2021) called a new kind of enslavement: the surveillance, observation, and manipulation of the mass via very technologies invented to serve them. The new Robber Barons control human thought via Thee Media and AI Algorithms in all Media, including (Anti-)Social Media.

Resistance: From the Streets to the Digital Revolution

Resistance to this global "Death Cult" cannot be delayed. It cannot wait until the time is right. History teaches that there is always a certain tipping point-a single event, or succession of events, which ignites a broader rebellion. Of course, the question, What will that be?, is the billion-dollar question. Will the subsequent economic collapse be such an event?

A new war? Or will an AI-driven life be one in which humans are losing control?

The 2011 Egyptian Revolution was one of people rising, demanding change. It was the non-violent resistance under the leadership of Gandhi that made the British Empire relinquish its hold on India. Such movements showed that people could rise violently or nonviolently, and empires would fall. Our struggle today is not any different. It is time we took our elites head-on, not just in the streets but even in the digital space. The fight against AI surveillance, tech monopolies, and the surveillance state is a matter of urgency in itself, the battle for political freedom.

Are we ready to rise? As Arundhati Roy comments, the Revolution will not come from above-it will come from the streets, from the people who no longer accept the given reality (Roy, 2018). This is the only way to have a bona fide just world. Here, the power should be with the people, not the elite.

The Time for Action is Now

It has already wrought its devastation upon the world, sucking resources dry, destabilizing our societies, reducing human beings to serfdom, and cowering under a system of surveillance and command. However, people have the power to resist as strongly as ever. History is full of examples that show us time and time again that no matter how consolidated tyranny may be, in one moment or over months and years of struggle, the people rise, and not even the most advanced systems of power are irrepressible.

Bloodiest Revolutions in History: A Warning for the Oligarchs of America

History has witnessed far less than what we face today, yet some of the bloodiest revolutions were fought. The French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and the Chinese Revolution were sparked by profound inequality and exploitation that had pushed the masses beyond the point of no return.

1.    The French Revolution (1789-1799): The people of France rose against a monarchy that squandered the nation's wealth, increased inequality, and crushed common people under the yoke of feudal taxes. They fought for exclusion from basic dignity and the elementary rights of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

2.    The Russian Revolution (1917): For centuries, aristocratic oppression faced the ultimate rebellion from its people as they struggled, not just for bread and shelter but also for fighting against that system which kept them inhuman, starved, and made them feel powerless while the Romanov Dynasty and Aristocracy just blossomed on.

3.    Chinese Revolution (1949): The peasants fought against foreign domination, imperialism, and feudal oppression for centuries. They fought to have enough land to cultivate with dignity, in a right of self-management of their concerns against an indifferent government to the mass suffering of its people, in which the actual powers were concentrated in foreign interests and a privileged oligarchy.

Now, in the America of 2025, we have a parallel danger: living under a new form of tyranny masked as consumerism, corporate control, and a Pentagon-backed mind-control apparatus. Our "freedom" is now more fictional than ever. More than 365 million Americans are in the stranglehold of a system where a few tech billionaires, media moguls, and the military-industrial complex get a superpower, with tens of millions facing precarity, economic despair, and political disenfranchisement.

However, the oligarchs-Musk, Bezos, and the corporate elite-might as well not exist. History is an unforgiving teacher, and it reminds us of the most powerful tools of empire and oligarchy-whether military might or digital surveillance-that means nothing when people have quite simply had enough. Enough is enough. I've had it. I've reached my limit.

"I will not endure it anymore."

"I have had enough already of this."

"It is time for revolt."

When 365 million Americans decide enough has been enough, when they begin to take to the streets, disrupt the system, and refuse to comply, the oppressive structures of power and wealth concentration will be destroyed. No matter how many drones, AI algorithms, or corporate lobbyists they deploy.

The oligarchs may well forget that authentic power does not reside in the few but in the will of many. And when that will is awakened, no system-no matter how advanced or fortified-can withstand the people's demand for justice and change.

In 100 years, people will likely not be naming their sons "Elon." But for thousands of years, people have named their children after martyrs who fought for truth, justice, and equality—figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Malala Yousafzai, Mahatma Gandhi, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Oscar Romero, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Frida Kahlo, Emmeline Pankhurst, Aung San Suu Kyi, James Baldwin, and Cesar Chavez.

These are the names which, down through history, have been borne by people who struggled against oppression, against civil injustice, and against the denial of freedom and dignity. It is a legacy to be shared across generations; a reminder that names which come to be associated with struggle and sacrifice can have a strength and relevance which lives beyond a single era or any passing fashion.

The term "No Quarter" conventionally refers to refusing mercy, as in times of war, when a victor refuses to let the defeated survive, or to give "quarter." In the context of "soldiers quartering themselves in people's homes and eating their families' food," it carries a specific historical reference, notably to the Quartering Acts in the American Revolution. These laws forced the colonists to quarter British soldiers and provide them with food, a clear violation of their rights, hence arousing much rage.

The Oligarchs today give the poor "No Quarter." In Revolutions, the peasants give the ruling class "No Quarter."

Now, in a modern setting, this metaphor would imply the actions of powerful elites, oligarchs, and plutocrats in 2024-2025 who are wildly endowed with both economic and political power. Members of this class mostly exercise this sociopathic power at the expense of the common citizen. They would "quarter" themselves in influential positions, taking from the corporate welfare, public through such measures as tax avoidance, corrupt practices, and excessive profiteering at the expense of the common good. Herein, they are looked upon as metaphorically "eating the food of the families" in that their privileges and gains come out of the hard work and sacrifice of ordinary people.

Some of the prominent members whose behavior could be compared to this modern-day "quartering" of society include:

Elon Musk – CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (ex-Twitter), has highly increased his wealth and influence. Most of his activities, from labor practices and taxes to the influence he has on public discourse, on Congress are often criticized for receiving disproportionate benefits from public systems. He wishes to escalate contributing to the increase in the wealth gap via austerity for everyone except self.

Jeff Bezos – Founded Amazon and has made his fortune incredibly large. How that company treats its employees, especially warehouse workers, given its influence in world markets, raises questions about how much individuals like him benefit off of infrastructure, tax systems, and the labor of less fortunate citizens.

Larry Fink – As the head of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, Fink and BlackRock have been accused of holding too much sway over global financial markets. Critics also say that the firm's pursuit of profit often comes at the expense of workers and communities, while its enormous influence shapes corporate behavior in ways that concentrate wealth in the hands of a few.

Mark Zuckerberg – Meta founder, accused of leading his platforms to dominance in online communication and data, reaping and selling the personal information of billions while contributing to the erosion of privacy and accountability.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin – The company from Google's founders has grown to a near-monopoly in search and digital advertising. It revolutionized the way information was disseminated, from which political discourse to privacy norms have been influenced, normally at the expense of the rights of the individual.

These people, as it were, are a new class of global oligarchs who often "quarter" themselves within the very structures of society, reaping wealth and power, offering little in return either in social responsibility or fairness. Their influence on policy, markets, and global economies often makes them seem untouchable, much like the soldiers in the Quartering Acts who were above reproach. Most or all act as censors and narrative controllers.

As we see in the light of 2024-2025, the metaphor stands for concentration's outcry and increased distance that has been gradually widening between the ultra-rich and mere mortals. This is because when it extends, as is the case with the present scenario, it would ultimately mean the privileged class living upon the heads, toil, and sacrifice of many and never contributing in due proportion to their privileges. It serves as fuel for resentment and as a call toward systemic reform in the direction of wealth inequality, corporate power, and democratic accountability.

References

Ebbets, S. (2000-2024). The People's Voice: People's Voice Publishing.

Hedges, C. (2019). America: The Farewell Tour. Simon & Schuster.

Klein, N. (2007). The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Metropolitan Books.

Klein, N. (2020). On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal. Simon & Schuster.

McKinney, C. (2020). The Surveillance State and its Digital Masterminds. Digital Rights Press.

Roberts, P. C. (2019). The Global Empire and Its Middle East Legacy: A Historical Analysis. Strategic Review Press.

Roy, A. (2018). Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers. Penguin Books.