An Oligarch’s Lost Letters: Bread and Promises
A Letter on Burden, Prosperity, and Necessary Control
This is the second letter in our Oligarchs’ Lost Letters series. This is a satirical yet instructive series exploring what an oligarch may think or believe about the masses. These works are not meant to insult, but to educate by offering a new frame of reference in matters of power, politics, and conflict. The series is not set in a specific time period, because the ideas echo throughout all of human history. Those who reject this frame will remain ignorant of it. And the ignorant are always ruled.
“It is quite amusing to me how the people think. They believe every issue is a matter of good and evil. They believe those who disagree with them are somehow lesser than those who agree. This is ironic, considering how frequently the populace changes its mind. One season they demand one thing, only to abandon it months later. This happens because they are ignorant of how the world truly works. The world thrives on complexity, not morality. Those who believe it thrives on morality are especially easy to rule.
Call something virtuous and they elevate it to the highest political good. Call something evil and they believe it to be the greatest evil that has ever existed. Their memory is short. This can be done repeatedly without consequence because they never catch on. They do not want understanding; they want distraction.
To do this effectively, one must possess power, influence, and wealth. In that, I am not lacking. My rivals are not lacking in wealth either. I seek more power and influence over our country and those who govern it. Many of my rivals can be contained simply by satisfying their personal interests and enriching them. They come from the populace, and so their appetites are easy to satisfy. They do not truly understand the importance of controlling a populace.
One complexity most people fail to grasp is that those who truly hold power are divided against one another, but not in the same way the people are. The people are easily divided and rallied against one another. One side demands a leader who promises cheaper bread. The other demands a leader who promises higher wages for farmers and field workers. You simply fund both sides to repeat these promises, and the people become convinced their chosen leader will improve their lives. In reality, it matters little who wins. Once they take office, they become subject to my influence.
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I control courts and representatives through money, luxury, or discretion, sparing them disgrace in the public square. They either act as I intend, or they are removed, either by the bodies of power or by the people themselves. That is the elegance of wealth. One can produce chaos without ever raising a sword. Simply raise a price, and control follows.
I do these things for the good of my country. The people are volatile and uneducated. They do not understand what is good for them or what will ultimately harm them. It is true that I inherited my wealth, as is widely known. But I have expanded my family’s power across every sphere that matters. That expansion is merely a byproduct of the good I have done in steering my country toward prosperity.
The people enjoy more bread, more invention, more freedom, and a higher quality of life than ever before, not because they demanded it, but because I accepted the burden of making my country more powerful. A few men may suffer in the pursuit of prosperity and power, but such losses are necessary for achieving glory.
Many uneducated men insist that I am evil, yet I have delivered abundance the people have never known. They cannot grasp the complexity of power because they were neither born into it nor possessed the ambition required to attain it. As I have said, many of my rivals are new to power. I have no rivals who surpass me. Not because I am evil, but because I am efficient.
My rivals and the people may believe me to be evil, but I am not. I act in the best interests of my country. They will never thank me for it. But whether they acknowledge it or not, I am the reason for their peace, prosperity, and freedom.”