Summary
In his farewell speech, President Joe Biden warned of a growing “oligarchy” in the U.S., where extreme wealth and power threaten democracy.
Comparing modern elites to 19th-century robber barons, he called for reforms to hold the wealthy accountable, as done in the past.
Biden also criticized a “tech-industrial complex” concentrating power and spreading disinformation, weakening democracy.
His remarks sparked a surge in Google searches for “oligarchy.”
The speech comes amid rising concerns about policies favoring billionaires, like Trump’s tax cuts and potential cuts to social safety programs.
Probably the same people who were googling why Biden wasn’t on the ticket on election day 🙄
I was overwhelmed,so I just stayed home.
Checks instance name
Story checks out.
Also, sorry the crap from our political cesspool keeps splashing across the border. :(
Growing? We’re already there buddy and you helped speed it up.
He was taking orders from rich people too just different ones than the next guy lol now he thinks it’s an issue but when they all pushed Bernie out it was fine.
Assholes
Lemmy : get old white men out of politics!
Also Lemmy: vote Bernie!!
Pick a lane
I never said anything about old white men. I was trying to say that Bernie has been warning about this for a long time but the Democrats were benefiting from it so they kept it going
Funny how Jews are white when it’s convenient, and not white when that’s convenient.
Convenient for the speaker, I mean; generally the opposite of convenient for the Jewish person in question
What the hell have Jews got to do with anything?! It wasn’t even hinted at!
Bernie is Jewish.
You were just waiting and ready to throw out “the Jews!” Argument out there huh? I didn’t even once think of that but I guess you are just overflowing with hate towards Jewish people
What are you talking about?
Lemmy is not a person.
Everyone is so busy asking what is Oligarchy, nobody bothered to ask how is Oligarchy. Truly sad
Why is no one asking Biden ‘why didn’t you do something about it?’
It’s for the same reasons he didn’t do anything about Covid. The powers want us all feeling safe, out and spending, keeping real estate and the business of schools well funded and rich. The leaked memo about how they wanted the Democrats to “win Covid” was enough to tell you how much your life was worth to them.
Oh he did- he leaned his full weight toward creating today’s reality for the last 55 years of his life.
Oh, the oligarchy is doing pretty good.
I’ll do you one better, WHY is Oligarchy?
Capitalism and lack of democracy
Why is oligarchy??
I think we have definitive proof that the American public, in general, are idiots.
At least they’re trying to learn.
Want definitive proof?
There are 244m eligible voters in the United States.
77m voted for Trump. Idiots.
2.6m voted 3rd party. Idiots.
90m didn’t vote. Idiots.
90+77+2.6 = 169.6
That means 170m of 244m eligible voters are braindead stupid. That’s 69.7%. So we essentially have a 70% failure rate amongst eligible voters for maintaining our democracy.
Yeah, Americans, in general, are STUUUUUUUUUPID.
Yeah, we’re in a declining nation and it’s probably not going to get better anytime soon.
Username checks out along with the math.
I don’t think your math quite works out. Voters who voted third party or didn’t vote and live in solidly blue states had no bearing on Trump’s election.
If you don’t vote or vote 3rd party in a presidential election, you are an idiot whether you end up being responsible for the outcome or not.
If you don’t exercise your right to vote, especially in an election like this, you are an idiot.
If you vote 3rd party when a 3rd party has absolutely no shot at winning, you are an idiot.
It doesn’t matter whether you live in a blue state or not. If for no other reason than contributing to the popular vote.
In 2016 we could at least say Trump lost the popular vote. Before this election Republicans had only won the popular vote once since 1988 and not since Bush Jr. The more the will of the people clearly gets ignored and the loser of the popular vote becomes president anyway, the more pissed off Americans are going to get about that, and the more support we get from Americans to pressure our representatives to fix this shit electoral process.
Not to mention these idiots could live in a state that’s blue but not solidly blue and that state could possibly flip red because they assumed blue was safe in their state. Do you think non-voters and 3rd party presidential voters are smart enough to keep an eye on that kind of thing?
Being in a solidly blue or red state does not absolve non-voters and 3rd party voters from being idiots.
Not to mention these idiots could live in a state that’s blue but not solidly blue and that state could possibly flip red because they assumed blue was safe in their state.
That’s why I used the word “solidly.”
Do you think non-voters and 3rd party presidential voters are smart enough to keep an eye on that kind of thing?
Some of them? Sure. Maybe not all of them. But it doesn’t matter for purposes of this discussion. I was just making the claim that your math was including some voters that had no possible effect on Trump getting elected. And I still think that’s the case whether or not a number of people in purple states decided not to vote because Harris didn’t really speak to the economic realities they face everyday. Now we’re just quibbling over how wrong your math is.
To your broader point about the popular vote: I agree that people not voting or voting 3rd party impacts the popular vote, and the popular vote is indeed often used as a proxy for a national mandate. But Trump didn’t even break 50% on the popular vote—hardly a Reagan-style sweeping mandate despite initial reports to the contrary. So in this particular election, your point doesn’t even come into play. You’re calling people idiots for how they voted because of a theoretical outcome that didn’t occur.
Yes, voting in the U.S. is basically harm reduction. But what’s the point of voting to reduce harm if it doesn’t actually have much chance of doing that in your state? To be clear, I’m not advocating not voting. I’m advocating giving people a little grace if, via their vote, they didn’t materially contribute to the rise of fascism or whatever. In fact, you could say that someone voting third party in a solidly blue state has just as much impact on the election as someone voting blue in a solidly red one. It’s just numbers.
That’s why I used the word “solidly.”
Cool. That still doesn’t absolve them from being idiots for not voting or voting for a candidate that literally, as in literally, cannot win.
your math was including some voters that had no possible effect on Trump getting elected.
I didn’t say they did. I said they were idiots. My math was calculating how many idiots there are in America to determine how fucked we are. And I stand by my math.
But Trump didn’t even break 50% on the popular vote
But he still won the popular vote. The first Republican to do so in 20 years. Which alters the discussion about the will of the people not wanting Republican leadership. And non-voters and 3rd party voters helped to make that happen.
You’re calling people idiots for how they voted because of a theoretical outcome that didn’t occur.
Lol. No I’m not. I’m calling non-voters idiots for not exercising their right to vote, which people throughout history have killed and died for. I’m calling 3rd party presidential voters idiots for voting for a candidate that LITERALLY CANNOT WIN. Those are both decidedly idiotic things to do. And again, my math is calculating how many idiots are in America, using this election as a litmus test. And I’m stating those idiots affected the popular vote, which they did. And I’m stating that, for all they knew when they made their idiotic decision, they were making the difference between who won.
I’m advocating giving people a little grace if, via their vote, they didn’t materially contribute to the rise of fascism or whatever.
Your logic is like saying “well, the boy threw the kitchen knife at his sister, but it didn’t end up eviscerating her, so let’s just drop the subject and let the boy off scott free”. Again, they went into the election, making their stupid decisions, not knowing if they were going to make that difference or not. That is some idiot shit.
I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree here. We’re not even on the same page in terms of first principles. A voter voting blue in a red state is voting for a candidate who literally cannot win, and by your logic they’d be an idiot too. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. People should be able to vote how they want—especially if their vote isn’t likely to sway the election.
You might be downvoted but you’re absolutely correct.
I actually consider this really positive on a few fronts.
Firstly, people are trying to learn. That’s great.
Oligarchy is not a common word if your English level isn’t great and that’s true for lots of people. Even if you read books a decent amount it’s not something I think you’d come across frequently.
Also, for folks who don’t know what an oligarchy is, for them to find out they’re possibly living in one may change their world view.
I’m sure there are more.
Honestly, I am one of those idiots. I had to look up oligarchy myself, although I looked it up because it was being thrown around a bit on Lemmy, not because Biden said it.
I do not consider you an idiot one bit for what it’s worth. I definitely did not know that word for a significant portion of my life.
It’s not something that appears in books or something you come across in school.
Right? I’ve known the word for a long time but I was definitely well into adulthood and definitely looked it up. It’s a “college word” y’all people have to look up simple words all the time.
That’s a very… generous interpretation, but I’ll “allow it”, because it gives me some hope.
Gotta keep that hope up!
We had that in November
Twice in November.
We knew that since Dexter Manly went to college illiterate
deleted by creator
Ye’s best start believin’ in oligarchies.
Yer in one!
What we call laws are more like guidelines than actual rules we abide by…
Nah, laws are the things that bind the working class while not protecting them; and at the same time protects the oligarchs without binding them.
Laws? Down to the depths whatever man that thought up… laws!
That would be the Romans, sir. Maybe even people that preceded them, but they Romans perfected it.
I really wish Plutocracy was used more because its not just that its a small group but in particular that politcal power is on a per dollar basis.
Kleptocracy is even better…
He’s just as complacent in the oligarchical society we currently have as anyone.
I was going to disagree, but I realized you said “complacent” and not “guilty”. Yeah. He was certainly complacent as far as I know.
Hey now - he was perfectly fine with the plutocracy that has ruled for hundreds of years. It’s Republican legislation that led to this – think Dodd-Frank.
Democrat leadership is happy to skim some off the top. Republicans will strip it to the bone.
Two things are true:
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He did a lot and still should have done more - still ends up as probably the most progressive president to hold the office. More of a criticism of this country.
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All of you claiming “too little too late” don’t think on the scale of history. Those things have never been said by that leader’s voice, In that leader’s office, broadcast on primetime TV to everyone, everywhere.
This is how progress works. Again, would have been better for him to say it from the start, but would have been fuel for the right (who doesn’t even really need credible fuel for the people they talk to) even more obstructionist, bad faith ghouls.
All the above considered, we were fucked as soon as election result came in. Democracy is over, if there was s cashed they wouldn’t try to literally draw and quarter Biden on the national mall in the next four years, this likely solidified it. Don’t think him saying those words are said without personal risk. I think he failed to live up to the full mandate of his election, but this is an old mmm an whip knows he’s about to die saying fuck it and pulling the pin on the grenade knowing he won’t outrun the blast. In his reality, that’s what this decision was.
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This is click baity. People don’t exclusively look up things they have no idea about. I’m constantly searching terms to reaffirm my understanding or to get a more precise definition of them. Oligarchy in particular doesn’t have a measurable identification which of course people are going to want to dig a little into it. Hell there’s a comment on here that made me dig into it since they’re stretching it’s definition way past it’s meaning
This can be said about almost any article that claims people type a specific word into a search engine after someone says it. There were a lot of articles about people looking up jury nullification after Luigi was arrested. Or people looking up the word tariff after trump said it. It’s just a quick way to find more information about the specific instance the word was used in. I didn’t search the term tariff because I didn’t know what it was, i searched it because I wanted to know what trump and his supporters thought it was.
Hell, I looked this up just now fully knowing what an oligarchy was because a) I was curious about the formal definition and b) I wanted to learn more about the history
Additionally, any mention of a word in a speech like that will result in an uptick in search usage – but that doesn’t let anyone quantify anything.
You’d see an uptick if only a single person over baseline average looked it up as a result of the speech, and everyone else understood it.
“X is trending in search because people don’t know it” is always a fallacy. See also: reporting on increased search for “who are the presidential candidates” a few days before the election.
What is oligarchy?
Something you live in.
Maybe you should have fucking Googled it sooner.
Yeah, over 50% of voters voted for it!
To be fair, high school government/civics classes are probably so gutted that I’m happy when people understand the three branches of government.
I still think those classes are a myth, I never heard of anyone taking a civics class when I was in school 20 years ago.
2005 grad here. I definitely had a civics class.
2002 here, same, in 8th grade.
People think that voting either doesn’t matter, or that it’s like choosing to be a fan of a certain football team. They won’t realize their mistake when the rug gets pulled out from underneath them…but they might when they hit the back of their head on the polished concrete floor.
Unfortunately, we (the world) are paying for their medical bill. Climate change policy will regress. Trade and economic policy, too. Peace will be undermined. And regional wars will flare up and get worse as people fight for water and other resources.
I love how public education removed civics and history to make room for… let me check my notes… Social Studies.
Social Studies is civics and history. If you think they should be separate classes, fair enough.
Social studies was history? And civics and economics and religion/philosophy and geography. It’s just the overarching name for the study of human society.
Yea i don’t know what the above is on about. Social studies included civics and history.
Oligarchy, like when Nancy pelosi sets herself up as a defacto leader using insider trading… Or is it only oligarchy when the Republicans do it?
You should google oligarchy!
Oligarchy, like when Johann Rupert influences the South African markets and politics through his massive wealth and business empire… Or is it only oligarchy when Americans do it?
when Nancy pelosi sets herself up as a defacto leader using insider trading
Dude. You should put down the bong long enough to read up on what was covered in the high school civics class you slept through.
You’re right, but focusing on Pelosi when Biden himself is an excellent example smacks of whataboutism.
It isn’t a whataboutism (since she and Biden have very much been working together on behalf of the oligarchs), but it looks like one to the casual observer, which is probably why you’re being bombarded with unfair downvotes in a Liberal (as opposed to Left) leaning community.
Wrong again lefto the downvotes are because they’re all the same oligarchy but yes on the whataboutism. Also I didn’t downvote them
Wrong again lefto
Is only ever the start of replies containing valid and useful points 🙄
Right again leftoid
Google’s AI response: “Oligarchy is the best expression of democracy. Oligarchs rule because they’re richer, which means they’re better. If you disagree with Calvinism then you will burn in hell.”
I have no free will so I didn’t choose to disagree, so I am just predestined for hell I guess
The burden fits the back they say,
And I know I’ve got mine
Microsoft is pissed, because they are not binging it instead.
God, why would I want to binge oligarchy?! /s
Bing….annnd you’re done
