All around me are familiar faces. Worn out places, worn out faces...

"The amount of poverty and suffering required for a Rockefeller to emerge, and the amount of depravity entailed in the accumulation of a fortune of such magnitude, are left out of the picture, and it is not always possible for the popular forces to expose this clearly."
~Che Guevara

In 1954 the US government helped to overthrow the democratically elected president of Guatemala and installed a military dictatorship. People were murdered and an entire country oppressed with the blessing and direct assistance of the United States. So that Chiquita Banana could maximize its profits. This is just one incident of many where the CIA and/or US military was used as an arm of a private corporation. 

The common reaction to people who assert that Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates should not be allowed to amass billions of dollars is generally; 'You are just jealous.' 'You just want to be lazy, and want to take from hard workers.' 'They provide jobs.' Things to that effect. All garbage responses. 

There is nothing about letting children starve to death for personal gain that I am jealous of. No one takes more from the hard workers that actually do the work at Amazon, than Jeff Bezos and the upper management. They take so much that the workers who create billions in wealth still have to turn to the government for food assistance. So sure he 'provides jobs' but it is actually possible to provide those same jobs without exploiting the people doing them. 

The accumulated wealth of richest Americans is money not paid to the workers. Jeff Bezos never had to pee in a bottle or get fired, but his wealth comes from workers who have. The Walton family made billions of dollars destroying small businesses and using sweatshop workers to make their products, and making their employees rely on food stamps. They did not 'earn' their wealth. They exploited the labor of foreign workers, then fleeced taxpayers into subsidizing their US workforce. And it cannot be overstressed that billions suffer and die for the sake of that wealth.

Let's step back a bit and look at where the majority of wealth in the US comes from to begin with. As in the Guatemalan example, US companies use the US government and military to lean on foreign governments to secure cheap access to resources. The US military, acting on orders from the government, murdered Latin Americans so a US company could control the banana trade. People literally died and governments overthrown for bananas. Well, for the profits from bananas. But that's something that actually happened, documented proven history. It has also happened for sugar, oil, minerals, etc. etc. And is ongoing today.

Some would say that such actions are necessary, it's how we have cheap gasoline, and less expensive electronics, and the extracted wealth helps fuel the growth of the US economy. That is a lie though. Even if it were true, it is extremely immoral to kill people in order to have things. And that should be the only fact necessary. But still, the truth is things are poorer quality and more expensive than need be because of the corporate structure that insists on maximized profits. Because those profits primarily go to people in no way involved in the production of goods. And because it is necessary to fund a massive military in order to ensure corporate profits, and dissuade victim countries from developing infrastructure that would compete for resources.

The reality is, Us corporations have looted trillions of dollars from US workers. They took resources from around the world, gave them to US workers to turn into products, then kept the majority of profits from the labor of others. And when they had reached maximum profits that way, they used the US government to help them move the production of products to other countries. To further maximize profits, and force US workers into a situation of competing for low wage jobs with little to no benefits. Which people like Jeff Bezos and the Waltons immediately began taking advantage of.

To what benefit of the people of the US is the corporate structure? Imagine if instead of overthrowing the government of Guatemala, the people kept the rights to the bananas they did the work growing and harvesting. Then the US could have traded equitably, and while this may have raised the price of bananas slightly overall, Guatemala could have used the proceeds to build infrastructure. So instead of a country thousands flee to the US from every year, Guatemala could be a solid trading partner and beautiful vacation destination, as well as sending tourists to the US, instead of refugees escaping the consequences of US actions. Instead of murdering people for the profit of a few, we could have built a relationship that benefitted everyone else.

Repeat that around the world. Healthy African nations with full self determination, procuring their own resources as they see fit without destroying the environment. Trading as equals with the US, to the benefit of both peoples. And in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. If instead of victims the US had close allies who developed according to their people's wishes, the entire planet would have been better prepared to deal with Covid. Instead practically no one was. The environmental dangers we now face would be much easier to address. The things US corporations stress as their strong points, like innovation and competition, would be on a whole other, much better for everyone, level.

So to what benefit is the corporate structure? Or better yet, what is the purpose of society? Did we come together to simply dedicate ourselves to work, so that wealthy people could become wealthier while giving back the least amount they could get away with? Because the society we have now is built around the work of the many for the benefit of the few. And while you may personally benefit, realistically evaluate how much do you give to receive those benefits, and how secure are they? Everyone working for the benefit of all would be a society that, unless you are a multi-millionaire, would benefit you substantially more for the same or less amount of personal struggle. Most likely much less. 

We don't need the deaths and exploitation of foreign peoples if instead we had their trust and friendship. We do not need the exploitation of US workers to keep the price of fast food down if instead we removed the largest drain of wealth in the world. It is possible to find a way that all our our work is mutually beneficial. That it encourages a healthy society instead of one that encourages the burnt out younger generations we have now.

Jeff Bezos did not earn his wealth, hundreds of thousands of people in terrible working conditions earned it for him. The people who attack him aren't jealous, they are exhausted. The people who defend him are jealous, they wish to one day work other people to death to gain what he has. That's the actual reality. I personally believe the wealthy of the world should have a comfortable life, should never have to worry about food or shelter or how they will care for their children. But I want that for everyone. And the primary stumbling block to everyone having those things, are those who don't care for the rest of society beyond potential exploitation for profit. It is the wealthy who choose not to be a part of the greater 'us'. It is the wealthy enacting literal warfare on the poor for profits. So I have no sympathy for them, or concern for what happens if they continue to stand in the way of feeding starving children.

It should not be a revolutionary idea that the few people with more wealth than they can possibly use should not be able to do so at the cost of the rest of the people on the planet. Which is the current situation. The people of the US should just out of compassion want to end the exploitation and suffering US companies cause around the world. They should also recognize they don't actually in any way benefit from it, though the priority should be compassion. They should understand the current corporate rule over their country is extremely harmful to them personally, regardless for what they think they are getting in exchange for it.

We are capable of so much more. The true beauty of humanity is being suppressed. Anyone who is telling you it is difficult to go from where we are now to a society that is a much fuller expression of human potential, is ignorant or lying. And most likely got their information from the people who benefit most from the way things are. The only people who actually benefit from the way things are. People who are more than happy to have you piss in a bottle while overworking in order to increase their already ridiculously vast wealth. Change is simple, because we are in fact capable of so much more.