THEY RULE

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.theyrule.net/html/about.php


They Rule aims to provide a glimpse of some of the relationships of the US ruling class. It takes as its focus the boards of some of the most powerful U.S. companies, which share many of the same directors. Some individuals sit on 5, 6 or 7 of the top 500 companies. It allows users to browse through these interlocking directories and run searches on the boards and companies. A user can save a map of connections complete with their annotations and email links to these maps to others. They Rule is a starting point for research about these powerful individuals and corporations.

Context
A few companies control much of the economy and oligopolies exert control in nearly every sector of the economy. The people who head up these companies swap on and off the boards from one company to another, and in and out of government committees and positions. These people run the most powerful institutions on the planet, and we have almost no say in who they are. This is not a conspiracy. They are proud to rule. And yet these connections of power are not always visible to the public eye.

Karl Marx once called this ruling class a 'band of hostile brothers.' They stand against each other in the competitve struggle for the continued accumulation of their capital, but they stand together as a family supporting their interests in perpetuating the profit system as whole. Protecting this system can require the cover of a 'legitimate' force - and this is the role that is played by the state. An understanding of this system can not be gleaned from looking at the inter-personal relations of this class alone, but rather how they stand in relation to other classes in society. Hopefully They Rule will raise larger questions about the structure of our society and in whose benefit it is run.

[seemslikeadream]

1. In 1998 the top 1% of the US population owned 38% of the wealth and the top 5% owned over 60 percent

http://www.aec.at/en/archives/festival_archive/festival_catalogs/festival_artikel.asp?iProjectID=11803

Making They Rule, I had an experience similar to the author of this fax. The interlocking directorates of the Fortune 100 companies fascinated me. As I compiled the data I was disgusted at the extent of the interconnectedness (over 90 percent of the boards in 2001 had members who sat on the board of at least one of the other the top hundred companies.) I was frightened to find that these board members often sit on government committees, or had been members of previous administrations. A quick look at the current administration confirms the connections between the state and the corporations. Before she became the National Secretary Adviser, Condoleezza Rice’s name graced an oil tanker, an honor awarded her after serving on the board of Chevron. Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton, a major US oil company, which at the time of writing is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. George W. Bush himself worked in the oil industry for years and has close ties to the infamous Enron Corporation which were the major corporate contributors to his electoral campaign. So it is no surprise that Bush could say that “he role of government is to create an environment in which businesses, small and large, can flourish. That‘s the role of government.” (1)

This uncommonly lucid remark from the President explains a lot about US foreign policy. Making the world a place where US business can flourish is the role of the US Government abroad. Corporations can not use military force to secure markets, they rely on the legitimacy of the state to carry out this brutality for them. After the US military victory in Afghanistan, Bush appointed Zalmay Khalilzad, a previous advisor to US oil company Unocal, who lobbied the Clinton administration for a softer line on the Taliban, as a United States’ special envoy to Kabul. (2) No conspiracy theories need to be concocted to see that the President has been consistent in executing his vision of the government’s role.

As I write this, the governments of India and Pakistan have the world holding our collective breath as they face off against each other with threats of nuclear war. It feels as if the outcome of this situation lies outside of our hands as individuals. If any individuals could be seen as having control it is “them”, not “us”. And the “them” are the people represented in They Rule, maybe not be those people in particular, but it is their class—the ruling class.

If it clear that ”they” rule, then, as the author of the fax asks, “what can we, the people do about it—that won’t destroy the American economy?” I think that a brief look at the American economy is a good place to start. It is the world’s strongest economy, yet according to the CIA World Fact Book 12.7% of Americans live below the poverty line. Another group of Americans tightly grips resources that could alleviate their plight. In 1998 the top 1% of the US population owned 38% of the wealth and the top 5% owned over 60 percent. (3) In such a situation, I think it is fair to ask if the American economy is worth protecting.

It is not the case that the rest of us, those not in this ruling elite, have sat back and passively accepted this situation. The history of America has been one of the struggles of ordinary people against the injustices of the time. Today there are many active fights against the rule of the profiteers. Teachers and healthcare workers have been protesting and striking for more resources for the social sector. There are many struggles against the environmental racism of the energy industry, against the racist “criminal justice system”, and against US militarism. Three years ago there was the famous “Battle of Seattle” where protesters expressed their anger against the corporate greed represented by the World Trade Organization.

Political art has often accompanied such struggles, but it has never been able to substitute for the struggles themselves. Despite the battle cry of Bertolt Brecht, art is not the most effective hammer with which to shape the world. However, it might be the spark that lights the fire, although many are content with just the threat, and would like to keep art politically dampened. Last autumn, I was invited to talk with a non-profit organization that lobbies corporate boards to be more environmentally conscious. They were interested in They Rule because it resonated with their idea of networking with the corporate board members and convincing them that they should seriously consider the roles and responsibilities of corporate governance. They preferred this co-operative approach, and rejected the immediate
necessity to light any fires. They viewed their work as successful if the environment got a mention in a company’s annual report.
I think that we should try and light as many fires as we can. Howard Zinn says artists should give more to the world than just art—artists should be political. While he was at a conference of historians during the Vietnam War, Zinn and some others drafted a proposal saying “We historians think that United States should get out of Vietnam.” Some historians said they agreed with the statement, but didn’t think that it was their business as historians to comment on current issues. Zinn asked:

Whose business is it? The historian says its not my business, the businessman says it’s not my business and the lawyer says it’s not my business, and the artist says it’s not my business, then whose business is it? You mean we are going to leave the business of the most important issues in the world to the people who run the country? How stupid can you be? (4)

[TankLV]

30. That was over TEN years ago. Do you have more current data?

[LARED]

2. That's a really cool website

It's like a high end free porn site for lovers of woo.

[seemslikeadream]

4. Of course your assessment does not disappoint my expectations of your enlightenment

[LARED]

5. Yes, poor benighted LARED .

One day I'm sure you expect I'll see the light of how all those corporations control the world.

[seemslikeadream]

7. If you lived in some other country you views of the world may be a bit different

[LARED]

8. Do you live in some other country? nt

[seemslikeadream]

10. That's for me to know and YOU to find out!

[LARED]

13. I expect it would, so what? nt

[seemslikeadream]

15. We're all on the same planet, no escaping that

[LARED]

18. I'll not sure you and I are from the same planet, but again so what? nt

[seemslikeadream]

22. I'm REALLY hoping LARED we are not from the same species let alone same planet.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[annabanana]

3. This is a GREAT, argument ending, site.

for those who think "you're imagining it" you ka-RAZ-y conspiracy theorist. .

[lonestarnot]

6. Oh thank you thank you thank you! Just what I've always wanted! I feel like it's Christmas!

:hug: I knew this site was out there, just didn't know the name! :applause:

[seemslikeadream]

9. Have I been forgiven?

Good to see you have not put the hatred down, :hug:

[lonestarnot]

11. Forgiven?

What did you do? :spank: :spank: :spank: :rofl: :hug:

[fascisthunter]

12. Very Cool Website

sure... there are no conspiracy in corporate America.... HA!

[psomniferum]

14. needs an update

they need to update the site. That would require executive x to be shifted to where executive y is and vice versa.

[lonestarnot]

16. That would require something similar to a debt clock wouldn't it?

[Phred42]

20. Correct. It would take a TEAM of researchers and serious funding to keep up

[lonestarnot]

21. Well then we better get busy after Tuesday!

[Phred42]

32. Agree!

[lonestarnot]

24. Wonder how much?

[lonestarnot]

25. .

[lumberjack_jeff]

19. Thanks so much. I saw that site several years ago, and no amount of googling could rediscover it. n/

[Triana]

23. These people are the base of the status quo - the ones who perpetuate it

and who protect it - for their collective benefit - and at any cost to everyone else. This is core of the system that needs to be shattered and its revolving door to the state (ie: the gov't) needs to be shut.

These people and entities should have NO more places at the state table than the rest of us. The problem now is, they have THEM ALL. The rest of us have NO VOICE in this country.

[unsavedtrash]

26. I haven't looked at this site for a few years.

Thanks for reminding me about it. :thumbsup:

[DemoTex]

27. "They stand against each other in the competitive struggle .." (for more and more ..)

Pretty much what Thorstein Veblen said in "The Theory of the Leisure Class" and "Conspicuous Consumption."

[DemReadingDU]

28. Muckety is a similar website

http://news.muckety.com/

Example...
In the upper right corner, enter Goldman Sachs
Then select Goldman Sachs Group Inc and click on Muckety map

See all those people!
Click anywhere on the map to activate it
Move cursor around the map to see the relationship of the lines

Page forward to find Henry Paulson's name
Then click to see his relationhips


MAP HINTS: Click expands a name. Control+Click centers map on a name. Solid lines are current relations. Dotted lines are former relations.

[bluesmail]

29. I can see Darth on the phone and telling 'a ghost'

"Time to get the hell out of here. The SEC is investigating us. Dubai! Hurry! We'll all be safe there because I've fixed all those frivolous details.

[earth mom]

31. I found more info by going to

www.theyrule.net

instead of the link in the OP.

:hi:

[lonestarnot]

33. Cool hugh? I want it updated.

[Octafish]

34. My Base

“This is an impressive crowd -- the haves and the have mores. Some people call you the elite -- I call you my base.” -- George W. Bush

OT: Interesting coincidence that "Al Qaeda" translates to "The Base." It's always whatever benefits "Them."