Philosopher King?
| In The Republic Plato documents the ideas of Socrates, including a hypothetical Philosopher King as the person in charge. This ruler would be educated and groomed to have a strong philosophical base and a love of “the truth in each thing” rather than a love of things. |
| Asked whether the ideal ruler described by Socrates could ever exist, Plato using Socratic dialogue: |
“Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy … cities will never have rest from their evils, no, nor the human race, as I believe, and then only will this our State have a possibility of life and behold the light of day” |
This answer seems to hint that the philosopher king was a rigorous ideal but too many things can go wrong – so no, impossible! |
Dictators
Dictatorships do not have open elections, have curtailed civil liberties, rule is by decree, opposition is not allowed and often include a cult of personality. Dictators can emerge in a variety of situations. Dictators need money to operate and maintain control.
There are three active dictators that are causing much of the tension in the world today. They all have a lot of money!
Iran
| Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is Iran’s highest authority – he has the final say over everything. |
| Khamenei has controlled Iran since 1989, and suppressed challenges to the ruling system, sometimes violently, for years. He has also taken hard line stances on external matters, including confrontation with the United States |
| Khamenei and his family have accumulated vast financial holdings through control of a secretive organization called Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam (Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order). |
| Setad has accumulated a portfolio of real estate by claiming , often falsely, that the properties are abandoned. The organization sells the seized properties at auction or tries to extort payments from the original owners. This business operation has investments in every sector of the economy, including banking, energy, and telecommunications. Reuters estimate holdings to be worth $95 billion. |
Russia
Vladimir Putin operates within a network of oligarchy. Russian oligarchs constitute the ruling elite in Russia.
These oligarchs built their wealth on assets stolen from the Russian public. After the Soviet Union’s collapse, a few politically connected officials and businessmen gained control of state-owned enterprises for pennies on the dollar, robbing the public treasury of the assets’ fair value. Many of these elites registered shell companies in secrecy jurisdictions, used them to open bank accounts in countries with weak corporate regulation, and bought real estate, stocks, bonds and extravagant luxury items outside of Russia.
Russian oligarchs created and financed what would be known as United Russia, Putin’s political party. After Putin took office, he used state power to ensure their loyalty. Experts say oligarchs have helped Putin stay in power through their political quiescence and economic support of the Kremlin.
 | A little cottage by the sea |
Putin claims in his official 2020 financial disclosure his residence is an 800-square-foot apartment. But, “Putin’s Palace”, his 190,000 square-foot mega-mansion overlooking the Black Sea was built for his personal use with funds from billionaire oligarchs, whom he allowed to operate as long as they shared the wealth — with him.
Tracking Putin’s assets has been almost impossible but Bill Browder, an investor in Russia who has fallen out with Putin, testified before the US Senate in 2017 that he estimates the Russian leader’s wealth to hover around $200 billion. Elon Musk thinks Putin is the richest guy there is.
China
Xi Jinping is the highest-ranking official in China. He serves as the Chairman of the Central Military, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and the President of China.
He became president of China in 2012 and not long after abolished the term limits that existed for top leadership.
Xi Jinping controls the Communist Party. His family owns a generous number of shares in a Chinese company that is public. The valuation of that company is in the lower billions meaning that Xi Jinping could very well have at $1 billion dollars in personal funds.
Power Corrupts and also Attracts a Lot of Money
I can’t help but wonder why they are still working if they have all that money. The need for power is obviously greater than the pull of money. That officially makes these guys scary monsters.
Or if they stop the next guy puts them on ice.
There is no equalizer anymore. Journalists sit on evidence for the right moment to sell, and eyeballs are trained on social media feeds.
I really enjoy your prose, @timschell
Thanks etown!