The elite, ultra-wealthy corporate community has crafted a society wherein every aspect is driven by motivation and action to turn a profit, unfairly benefiting themselves by exploiting communities and entire nations and undermining the people’s right to self-determination. Even the upper-middle class and wealthy, who appear to thrive in this society, still face its constraining realities.
The Elite’s Economic Games and the Mirage of Stability
In the upper-middle class, wealth seems to bring security. However, that feeling of safety is often just an illusion. It’s an illusion created by those “above” them — the elite, more powerful class that really controls the economy. The elite’s manipulation of the financial system to augment their wealth inherently perpetuates capitalism’s boom-and-bust cycles, leaving the broader population vulnerable to layoffs, stock market downturns, and other financial crises that can erase savings and job security overnight.
Since 1948, there have been 11 economic recessions — a tough financial time about every six years. This inherent instability within our economic framework is produced by a narrow elite that engages in high-stakes gambles, exploiting the vulnerabilities of the broader populace for profit, a practice that unfailingly inflicts harm on the community at large. These gambles harm lots of people, as the elite strive for more money and power, not caring much about others’ job security or savings.
The ups and downs in the stock market, which directly impact people’s jobs and their investments, don’t just happen by chance. They are often caused by a few influential individuals who make decisions that help keep themselves in power and maintain a system that works in their favor. A stark illustration of such manipulation is the case of Enron in the early 2000s. Enron’s top executives engaged in elaborate financial deceit, including fabricating accounting figures and hiding debts in shell companies to dramatically and falsely inflate the company’s stock value. This manipulation not only deceived investors and employees, many of whom lost their life savings when the fraud was unveiled and the stock value plummeted, but it also underscored the fragility of financial systems that can be exploited by the powerful to their advantage, while leaving widespread economic destruction in their wake.
This system not only affects the average person but also those who are quite well-off but not super-rich. In the capitalist framework, stock manipulation reveals a stark division even among the affluent, with the ultra-wealthy often shielded from the fallout due to their diversified portfolios and insider knowledge. This disparity means that, while the average investor, including those who are relatively well-off but not among the elite, might see their investments devastated by market manipulations, the super-rich are often able to either avoid these losses or even profit from the volatility.
This dynamic serves to reinforce existing power structures and economic inequalities, as the ultra-wealthy can exploit these situations to their advantage, further widening the gap between themselves and the rest of society. Essentially, stock manipulation exacerbates the systemic imbalance, ensuring that the rich get richer, often at the expense of everyone else, including the middle and upper-middle classes.
This system, crafted and regularly fine-tuned by those at the apex, ensures that significant decisions — the ones that dictate the direction of our professional lives, the quality of our children’s education, the fabric of our communities — are made in spaces sanitized of our influence. They engineer an environment where our voices are echoes rather than edicts, where our collective will is subjugated to their aligned vision.
This orchestration of the economy and exclusion from significant decisions exemplify the ruling class’s dominance. The reach of their power permeates societal structures to shape our individual agency and maintain a status quo by coercing us into complicity with their profit-oriented schemes that serve the interests of those powerful few. The complex interplay of economic control and institutional power is at the heart of the elite’s strategy in sustaining capitalist hierarchies.
My central point here is that everyone, particularly the upper-middle class who appear to benefit from the relatively modest advantages allotted by the true architects of wealth and power, should acknowledge their own exploitation and the fragility of their standing within this system.
The Rat Race
The narrative peddled to us — that, with relentless ambition and a dash of fortune, anyone can soar — is a smokescreen. Behind it, the truth is stark: the rules of ascent are often rigged by those who’ve already reached the summit. The distinction between the upper class and the ultra-wealthy lies in the scale of their assets. The upper class enjoys substantial income and wealth, typically from professional careers or business ownership. The ultra-wealthy, on the other hand, possess wealth in the hundreds of millions or more, derived from vast investment portfolios, major business holdings, or inheritance, granting them significant power and influence beyond mere financial comfort.
While a select few may ascend to the ranks of the ultra-wealthy, the vast majority, even those earning a comfortable six-figure income, remain vulnerable to the inherent instabilities of capitalism. Indeed, for most, achieving a high income does not shield against the capricious tides of economic downturns, layoffs, and financial crises that underscore the fragile foundation of perceived security under capitalism.
The relative comfort and material wealth provided to those in the upper-middle and upper classes, short of entering the ultra-wealthy echelon, serves as a tantalizing lure within the societal rat race, driving individuals to continue engaging with the system, constantly seeking pathways and strategies to attain what is dangled before us . The enticement of upper-middle class life — the so-called American Dream — keeps the masses tirelessly striving, aligned with the elite’s goals rather than pursuing genuine personal and communal fulfillment. In the societal maze, the elite dangle the “meritocracy” cheese from their perch atop mountains of wealth, legacy, and connections, enticing the masses to race endlessly, hoping to reach what remains an elusive prize for most and a deceptive comfort for those successful few who climb into the upper-middle class.
In parallel, the stark contrast of this enticement is the ruling elite’s pervasive and deliberate maintenance of an underclass, a group living on the fringes of society, mired in conditions of homelessness, malnutrition, inadequate education, substance dependence, and pervasive despair. This underclass serves not merely as a reservoir of desperate labor, ready to fill any gap or break any collective action for better working conditions, but also as a chilling deterrent to those in more comfortable socioeconomic tiers. The existence of such a dire state of living is a constant, looming threat used to instill fear and compliance among the middle and upper-middle classes, ensuring that they too remain tethered to the prevailing system, wary of challenging the status quo or pursuing any form of radical change that might jeopardize the security meticulously crafted by the elite. This orchestration not only perpetuates the extraction of wealth upward but also fortifies the barriers that keep the societal hierarchy rigid and unyielding, with the specter of descending into the underclass acting as a powerful tool to maintain order and obedience.
Jumping off the Wheel
Genuine personal and communal fulfillment, contrary to the meritocratic and consumerist doctrines, are not purchasable commodities. The most fulfilling life is one that resonates with principles that transcend material wealth and social status, emphasizing inner peace, interconnectedness, and the cultivation of virtues. This approach advocates for a deep sense of harmony with the natural world and a commitment to mindful living, where actions are guided by compassion, empathy, and a profound understanding of the interconnectedness of all beings. It places a premium on personal growth and self-realization, encouraging individuals to look beyond external achievements and to find value in simplicity, contentment, and the pursuit of wisdom. Such a life emphasizes the importance of community and the collective well-being over individual gain, fostering an environment where relationships are valued for their depth and authenticity rather than their utility. This vision of the good life invites a re-evaluation of conventional measures of success, proposing a more holistic and spiritually enriched path to fulfillment.
In other words, a fulfilling life is sculpted from experiences that transcend economic transactions. Tragically, the systems we live and work within (economic, social, and political) are designed to obscure this. They chain our self-worth to material benchmarks.
Within the capitalist system, self-worth often hinges on securing high-paying jobs, acquiring property, driving prestigious cars, sporting luxury fashion, and possessing cutting-edge tech. This pursuit reduces the complexity of human identity to a singular dimension of material accumulation, subtly suggesting that personal value and societal contribution are quantifiable by the assets one holds. These materialistic markers not only dictate social standing but also, unfortunately, become intertwined with our sense of identity and self-esteem, overshadowing the intrinsic value of non-material experiences and personal growth.
It’s a deliberate act, this intertwining of personal worth with economic output. Those at the top propagate this meritocratic and consumerist ideology, knowing that it fuels a machine where the wheels turn on our continuous labor and aspiration. They understand, perhaps more than anyone, that philosophies that value inner peace and communal harmony like Taoism and Buddhism stand in direct opposition to their unyielding quest for affluence and dominance.
The awakening to this reality is uncomfortable, yet necessary. It challenges us to reassess the very foundations of our self-conception and our place within the societal hierarchy. It’s a call to recognize how our lives, and even our capacity for self-determination, have been monetized by those who profit from our participation in a game whose rules they’ve written.
This constructed reality, where the elite pull strings to consolidate wealth and influence, doesn’t just manifest in the macro machinations of market and policy. It trickles down into the minutiae of daily life, shaping our perception of success and the pathways we believe are available to us. It’s a stark reminder that the pursuit of a “Michael Jordan mentality” — the relentless striving for peak performance and accumulation — is not just an inspirational ethos but a script written by those who benefit from a workforce perpetually chasing the carrot dangled before them.
The narrative spun by the elite obscures a critical fact: it is often lineage, rather than merit, that underpins their unassailable security, insulating them from the volatile swings of capitalism. A false tale of meritocracy legitimizes their status and keeps others chasing an elusive independence — a semblance of autonomy that, in reality, is often far out of reach.
Imposed Standards of Self-Worth
We’re persuaded to chase the myth of self-made success, ignoring how legacy and inheritance skew the playing field towards the ultra-wealthy. This myth isn’t about inspiring ambition; it’s a deliberate deception. The elite fear that if the people, especially the educated and well-off, begin to prioritize inner peace and communal harmony over material gains — if we start to measure life by the depth of our experiences rather than the size of our estates — the foundations of their power could begin to crumble. When those with education and means see through the mirage nefariously constructed by our ultra-wealthy antagonists, they have the potential to merge their capabilities and present a formidable opposition to the apex of authority.
Our understanding of self-worth is dictated by capitalist metrics. This is one of the most profound subversions of our will. We’re taught, both implicitly and explicitly, to value ourselves not by our kindness, contributions to community, or capacity to love and create, but by our wealth and job titles. This is no accident. It’s a methodically maintained mindset that keeps us locked into a cycle of perpetual dissatisfaction and ceaseless striving, all while the elite preserve a system that benefits from our belief that we are what we earn.
Realizing this manipulation can be a watershed. The worth we’ve been taught to strive for is a mirage, a construct that keeps us tethered to a wheel, powering a system that feeds the few by depriving the many. We must redefine success — not by the parameters set by those above but by a measure that resonates with the depth and authenticity of our own lives.
Rediscovering Our Common Interest
And so we reach the crux of the matter, the heart of the deception. The capitalist creed, deftly authored by those in ivory towers, is not a set of well-meaning social or economic principles; it’s a mechanism of control, an invisible hand that molds our desires, dictates our ambitions, and prescribes our self-esteem. This system offers a false promise of free choice, enticing us to embrace the capitalist ideology we’ve been taught. Through this deceptive offer, the elite conceal the restrictions on freedom and equality that are embedded in the system’s structure and functioning. It’s a system that teases an illusory liberty while shackling us to an insatiable hunger for more — more money, more status, more things — all while the planet groans under the weight of our consumption as the fabric of society frays in the winds of competition.
We’ve been sold the myth of scarcity, the lie that there’s not enough for everyone, so we must hoard, compete, and climb over one another. This scarcity isn’t a natural state; it’s engineered. It’s a controlled burn that benefits those who hold the matches and watch as we scurry for the embers. They’ve built fortresses of wealth on foundations of our collective insecurity, our fears of inadequacy, and our ceaseless labor. Their wealth is our deprivation, accumulated from the very system that pits us against each other under the guise of scarceness.
We must recognize the meritocratic narrative they’ve marketed to us, promising that anyone can reach the top through relentless hard work, as a tool that’s been used to keep us in line. It’s a narrative that urges us to buy more, work more, and push harder, linking happiness to material possessions and career success. Yet, true happiness isn’t found in these pursuits.
We must write a new story — our own story.
It’s time to call out the puppeteers, to recognize that their strings are unraveling, that their grip is not as firm as it once was. Our worth is not and cannot be a function of their ledger books. We are not cogs in their machines, not avatars of productivity to be measured, managed, and discarded. We are the living, breathing collective that powers nations, and it’s time to reclaim the narrative, to steer the discourse toward acknowledging our intrinsic value.
Let’s set our sights on a horizon where success is not a zero-sum game dictated by those who have always won, but a shared venture where prosperity is not hoarded but harmonized. A world where our worth is counted not in currency but in our capacity for compassion, creativity, and community.
This is our invitation to emerge from the capitalist fog, to shake off the shackles of an imposed worth, and to rise with the kind of defiant hope that those at the top fear most. We must stand united with a hopeful resilience that challenges the status quo. Let us come together, creating a collective voice so strong and unified that it demands attention. Now is the moment to reconstruct, to reconsider, and to open our eyes to a realm of opportunities where our lives are measured not by our possessions, but by what we truly value.