End of Empire Woes and Dead CEOs
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”
-John F. Kennedy
A seemingly normal law-abiding man has sought justice in the most primitive fashion. Incensed by a health insurance system that has wronged so many, Luigi Mangione saw no lawful course that would enact any meaningful change, so he shot a United Healthcare executive in cold blood. This murder was not unfounded, but it was also not deserved. The assassination of aristocracy is indicative of a late-stage empire. The culmination of perverse inequality always leads to anarchy by citizens intent on taking matters into their own hands.
This is known as “street justice” because on the basis of common law, this CEO is completely innocent of any wrongdoing and was simply doing his job in an industry that is designed to make money at the expense of the insured. If insurance companies paid out more than they collect in premiums, it wouldn’t be a very profitable business. Punishment by the system will never come to the abusers enabled and empowered by that same system.
The issues of healthcare and insurance are systemic and attributed more to economic factors than the malice of individuals. Government subsidization, excessive administrative costs, and poor general health are all major reasons why healthcare and its related insurance premiums have become so expensive. Almost 2/3 of all personal bankruptcies in America are caused by medical debt. Uninsured Americans often forgo medical treatment and are afraid to call an ambulance in an emergency due to the insane costs.
This crisis is ingrained in the corporatization and financialization of every aspect of our lives. Medical treatment is not priced for individuals, they are priced for insurers or governments with bottomless pockets. Insurance premiums are not priced for families, they are priced for corporate group plans with more spread-out risk. Self-insuring has become preferable for the worker who is separate from corporate America and does not qualify for Medicaid. The economics of the industry are not redolent of individuals, the same is true for all subsidized commerce. The cohesion of corporation and government creates significant financial barriers enshrined in law. The individual never had a chance.
The CEO and other corporate executives are hired by various Board of Directors for a single purpose, increase shareholder value. Often this is a heartless procedure, but profitability is more of a hard science than an emotional art. Free markets are a collection of competitive businesses intent on satisfying the needs of consumers who dictate the prices and success of those businesses. Corporate oligopolies permitted by governments take the power away from the consumer and the financial risk away from the business. The CEO may consider the greatest benefit to customers, but he may also consider a cheaper alternative involving lobbying politicians to stifle competition and drive profits independent of consumer demand. Business used to be a more localized and personal affair that pursued the fulfillment of communal needs. There is no humanity within an enterprise that is no longer incentivized to satisfy the needs of people. Consequently, they should not expect humanity in return, case in point, the latest illustration of street justice.
This sentiment will bring about the end of the American Empire. The cyclical nature of human civilization shows us numerous historical references for the current downfall of our society. Human nature has a comical way of flushing out bad actors when collective suffering reaches its crescendo. The stars appear to be aligning as political instability meets economic transitions. This cycle of monetary inflation will find its excruciating top before the economic reality sets in. Currency devaluation is very slow as the value of each unit will only approach zero, contingent on the confidence of the people who transact with it. The ebbs and flows of economic cycles can bring about impressive historical events like revolutions, wars, and systemic change. As the necessity for these events arise, so does the propensity. We are in the 4th turning and we are far past the stage of unraveling.
Interesting times are surely ahead when people seem to shrug off or even glorify the cold-blooded murder of a CEO and multiple presidential assassination attempts. We become desensitized to the violence as we see the need for it. The peaceful protest has fallen on deaf eared politicians and an iniquitous system of finance and law that protects the criminals. Americans used to enjoy the spoils of our empire and ignore the manner of which that sausage is made. As the spoils become fewer and farther between the economic classes, the wickedness of global war and corporatism become far less tolerable by the majority. Just like the Ancient Greece, Persian, Roman, Ottoman, Mongolian, Spanish, and British Empires, this one shall come to an end.
Why humans follow this perpetual cycle of subjugation and strife is a better question than how or when these turnings occur. Perhaps we will eventually learn the lesson that globalized control over people and commerce always leads to revolution and dead aristocrats. I suppose it’s easier to enjoy the ill-gotten gains while kicking the proverbial can down the road, hoping that the people don’t wise up in your own generation. Our species has a habit of making the same mistakes, I believe this is primarily due to our collective ignorance and wrongful dispelling of blame. I pray that this time around the actual purveyors of human suffering face the music and our society can finally evolve past these monetary hegemons. I have faith that things will begin to move in the right direction, but I promise you… Bankers do not fear dead CEOs.