The Changing Politics of Oligarchy
1st May 2025
In American politics, the main beneficiaries of “dark money” have in recent years tended to be Democrats. Google representatives were reported to have visited the White House at least 427 times during Barack Obama’s two terms. And in 2024, big spenders like Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, Marc Benioff, Alex Soros, James Murdoch, Michael Bloomberg, and various donors from Wall Street helped Kamala Harris raise over US$1.5 billion for her campaign, the highest figure in history.
Which demonstrates convincingly that one cannot ‘buy’ an election, popular mythology to the contrary notwithstanding. You have to have a good candidate, not an empty suit like Harris.
This also undercuts the premise of the article pretty thoroughly. Oligarchs have power only to the extent that money gives them access to politicians, who are the people who have the Real Power (that of the gun). Rich people have a lot of carrots at their disposal, which give them influence, but power grows from the barrel of a gun, and the sticks are firmly in control of the bureaucrats. This is why any talk of American ‘oligarchs’ is pure hysteria.
To be in this party, you either need Big Bucks or Big Tits.