To My Sons,
You have often heard it said that money is power by lesser men. This is the biggest lie ever told to anyone, true power is how a person attracts influence over important offices and governing decisions. Lesser men say this because of jealousy, and the simple fact is that they do not possess any money of their own, so they must imagine, with no heuristic for reality, how much power they truly possess with money.
I personally know many wealthy merchants who may have more than our family, but it does not matter because these men are under the same illusions as those lesser men; they believe money is power. Yet in their most important cities where they trade and acquire their wealth, they do not have any control over the governing bodies who regulate and allow their trade. They allow other men to control the policies and hope that they are not negatively affected by them. This works fine for merchants because they are able to bring their goods to many cities through the sea, but they must suffer the consequences of higher taxes paid to the governing authorities because they hold no influence or power over them.
They could be making more profit if they were more willing to spend money on certain intangible investments. But these merchants are generally the same; they do not want to part from their riches because many come from families that were minor nobles, and now they have made themselves into dynasties of wealth, not power.
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Power and influence over the governing bodies is the most important currency in any society. This is why we are one of the most powerful families in this city, yet we do not have the most material wealth. Our wealth is tied up in intangible assets that are named by the many politicians and government officials. This is why we command the wealth of so many families who have more than us because we hold influence over those who make decisions on taxes, trade policies, and other domestic policies enforced onto the population.
Take, for instance, the banking families; they have great wealth and control over the populace and certain aspects of the government, but in my life I have expanded our own influence over the militias of the city and those who set the regulations the banking interests must follow. This allows our family to exert a soft power over the banks, which in turn allows us to become more influential because we can control where the money goes.
This is one example in a great line of many, such as our monopoly on food production; we have lent out the land to those amongst the populace who need a place to work and food. We simply provide the land for these people to work and allow them to sell the extra harvest for profit. This is a mutually beneficial relationship because we may always evict farmers if need be, but also the farmer, if he does a good job, will earn money that can be used to live life in luxury instead of squalor. But the power lies in the fact we own the land; therefore, we hold influence over those who farm the land, and every powerful faction and family must listen and heed us; otherwise, they will soon learn what the starving populace will do to the rich.
As my sons, you must understand this empire of influence has been built for you to maintain, expand, and prosper. Our family is the most powerful in the city; any rival can be cut down instantly through our influence. Be very wary of rivals that threaten our hegemony in this society, though, because they will always rise and seek to dethrone us; do not let them. Crush their insolence and their thought rebellion with our tools and investments. I have prepared you for this all your lives; do not fail me.
Your Father,
The Monopolist
The Oligarchs’ Lost Letters is our free series within PT Press. This series uses fictional private letters to show patterns and rationalizations that power uses to justify itself. This series should be used to examine the concepts of power and its patterns; it should not be used as a self-righteous narrative for the masses, assuming oligarchs are behind every peril. Do not mistake this series for something it is not.
The entire series, which has grown to 10 installments, can be found on our website.
It’s actually women that have made money power. No woman is submissive to a broke man, by all women will follow a wealthy one. Men chase money and power for sex with one of the many women that will chase him.