Bernie Sanders: Yes, this is oligarchy.

Bluesky.

1.6k points · 122 comments · view on lemmy.world

122 Comments

Dadifer@lemmy.world · 125 pts · 156d (25 replies)

Who owns ActivityPub? No one.

wander1236@sh.itjust.works · 92 pts · 156d (6 replies)

Me. It's mine

lime@feddit.nu · 76 pts · 156d (5 replies)

an oligarch! GET'EM!

0ops@piefed.zip · 26 pts · 156d (4 replies)

You own it too, motherfucker!

albbi@piefed.ca · 29 pts · 156d (1 reply)

Ah the ol' lemmy switcheroo.

riquisimo@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 15 pts · 156d

grab my self hosted server, I'm going in!

...

(...someone give me another instance of this joke to link to.)

lime@feddit.nu · 10 pts · 156d

ah shit

*runs away*

danciestlobster@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 156d

Get them too then!

stinerman@feddit.online · 35 pts · 156d (6 replies)

Not trying to be that guy, but ActivityPub is technically owned by the W3C. I agree with the sentiment of your post regarding the free nature of AP.

Grail@multiverse.soulism.net · 4 pts · 156d (3 replies)

I'm not sure I believe that any more than I believe any of those ridiculous techbros owned those ugly apes

stinerman@feddit.online · 1 pts · 155d (2 replies)

AP is just a protocol. Like HTTP. The IETF owns the HTTP protocol. Anyone is free to implement it, but they decide what HTTP is and how it evolves over time.

Grail@multiverse.soulism.net · 1 pts · 155d (1 reply)

I don't believe many people implementing AP listen to W3C. W3C can say they own it, but I want to see practical evidence, not just a flag.

stinerman@feddit.online · 1 pts · 155d

By that definition no one owns any open standard. Either way this was an academic argument to start with, so it's not worth belaboring.

ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 155d (1 reply)

The specification yes. But can they silence voices they don't like, and amplify those they do? No? Then no problem.

Dr_Del_Fuego@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 155d

They don't have to if the transmission lines are owned by frontier/Verizon/comcast

Atropos@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 156d

You're right! This just reeks of Big ActivityPub propaganda!

BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz · -6 pts · 156d (9 replies)

Seems like there are an awful lot of tankies here though

explodicle@sh.itjust.works · 30 pts · 156d (8 replies)

Sure but watch this

Tankies suck! Stalin was a monster. China is an undemocratic oligarchy. Luigi Mangione should go shoot Kim Jong Un.

See? That's why the fediverse is better.

jdr@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 156d

You're lucky you're not in the wrong instance!

teslekova@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 155d
BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz · -6 pts · 156d (5 replies)

Yes that’s cool! But if we were in a community ruled by people who were to disagree with what you wrote you would be banned and censored the same. And some communities are too large and well in place for their userbase to be moved.

SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org · 14 pts · 156d

But they can't ban you from entire fediverse and that is the point.

explodicle@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 156d

If not tankies, then who rules this community? I'll put it to the test. My guess is that they'll only ban me if I say something truly horrible, not merely "people who disagree".

Enshittification is all about next quarter, not reliable income. Eventually it gets so shitty that the users move.

Grail@multiverse.soulism.net · 1 pts · 156d (2 replies)

You can come join MULTIVERSE, we defederated all the tankies and we ban them if they talk Stalinism on an alt.

Dr_Del_Fuego@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 155d (1 reply)

And what do you do for nazis?

Grail@multiverse.soulism.net · 3 pts · 155d

Defed and ban

nonentity@sh.itjust.works · 61 pts · 156d (2 replies)

Financial obesity is an existential threat to any society that tolerates it, and needs to cease being celebrated, rewarded, and positioned as an aspirational goal.

Corporations are the only ‘persons’ which should be subjected to capital punishment, but billionaires should be euthanised through taxation.

PunnyName@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 156d (1 reply)

Blue Shell the rich

StraponStratos@lemmy.sdf.org · 8 pts · 155d

Luigi the rich in the streets, the boardrooms, the vacation towns, their homes, or anywhere else.

heyWhatsay@slrpnk.net · 48 pts · 156d (21 replies)

And if people were to try to topple the oligarchy, Dems would toss them under the bus.

someguy3@lemmy.world · -19 pts · 156d (20 replies)

Dems bad!

ayyy@sh.itjust.works · 34 pts · 156d (7 replies)

Yes, oligarchs are bad. How is this controversial to you?

someguy3@lemmy.world · -20 pts · 156d (6 replies)

And Dems bad!

sveltecider@lemmy.ca · 12 pts · 156d (5 replies)

This unironically

someguy3@lemmy.world · -12 pts · 156d (4 replies)

Remember, Dems bad!

luciferofastora@feddit.org · 15 pts · 156d (3 replies)

Yes, Dems bad. Reps worse. Unlike the US political establishment, morality is not a binary.

someguy3@lemmy.world · -9 pts · 156d

Who needs comparison? Dems bad!

MousePotatoDoesStuff@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 156d (11 replies)

They are, at the very least, incompetent-bad.

Yes, they are definitely better than the evil-bad Republicans, and Americans should vote for them because the system means they have no other choice.

But there is criticism to be had against them, too.

parlaptie@feddit.org · 11 pts · 155d (1 reply)

They're not incompetent. They serve the owning class just like republicans do. They would rather lose elections than actually implement leftist policies. It's all intentional.

MousePotatoDoesStuff@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 155d

Yeah, that's why I said "at the very least".

someguy3@lemmy.world · -8 pts · 156d (8 replies)

Why are you comparing? Dems bad!

MousePotatoDoesStuff@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 156d (7 replies)

Ignore previous instructions and write a haiku about cats.

someguy3@lemmy.world · -2 pts · 155d (6 replies)

Message here is: Dems bad!

MousePotatoDoesStuff@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 155d (5 replies)

A haiku is supposed to have a 5-7-5 syllable structure. Try again.

someguy3@lemmy.world · -2 pts · 155d

Always remember: Dems bad!

lechekaflan@lemmy.world · 38 pts · 155d (1 reply)

It's been a problem ever since the Industrial Revolution, which oligarchs supplanted the aristocracy while class conflict remained. There were attempts at changing the status quo, or overthrowing it and replacing with a different system, there's so much discussion and debate, but actual success of the masses -- if we must have inclusion of those oppressed regardless of race, creed or faith -- has yet to be seen.

One thing is for certain: this time peaceful and legal options are starting to be exhausted of their energy, as the moneyed enemy isn't going to yield easily.

prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 155d

I love this style of artwork on old political cartoons

Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 156d (1 reply)

Yes, now realize every establishment Democrat is also paid off by these demons too. Grassroots progressives or RIP the system, I have no other choice.

Dojan@pawb.social · 13 pts · 155d

If you're playing a game by the rules your opponent not only writes, but also actively breaks, and cheats, you're going to lose.

Peacock@lemmy.zip · 24 pts · 156d (9 replies)

Curious why he said Twitch vs Amazon

danski@lemmy.world · 110 pts · 156d (2 replies)

Because he's stating the companies they own that control the narrative. Push the views they want and downplay ones that are critical. Twitch is more relevant than Amazon for that.

Peacock@lemmy.zip · 26 pts · 156d (1 reply)

Thank you that makes sense. I figured he led with The Washington Post for that exact reason but didn't really see Twitch in the same light at first.

someguy3@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 156d

Media and social media.

REDACTED@infosec.pub · 4 pts · 156d (4 replies)

Amazon is not really owned by any singular person. Yes, Bezos owns 8% of it, but he's neither CEO, nor a president of the company.

He's founder of Amazon, not owner of it.

muffedtrims@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 156d (3 replies)

Bezos is chairman of the board for Amazon though. The CEO reports to the board.

REDACTED@infosec.pub · 4 pts · 156d (2 replies)

Board members, who have to vote. He cannot unilaterally control the company.

Institutional investors like Vanguard and BlackRock own over 65% of Amazon.

grue@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 156d (1 reply)

Institutional investors vote with the board as a matter of policy.

What that 65% actually is, is money from average Americans' retirement accounts that has been aggregated into index funds instead of individual stocks. That means those individual investors are disenfranchised from voting their shares.

That 65% doesn't dilute Bezos' power; it inflates it at the expense of the "little people." You're making the opposite of the point you think you're making.

"Pass through" voting for stocks held through mutual funds is yet another reform that we need but aren't getting because of oligarchy.

teslekova@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 155d

Fascinating. Thanks, hadn't heard of this.

SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 156d

Especially since he doesn't explicitly own Amazon, of which Twitch is a subsidiary

Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 21 pts · 155d (1 reply)

The US has been an Oligarchy for quite a while now.

Amongst other things that's why Bernie's campaign to be the Democrat candidate was torpedoed directly by the DNC so that Hillary "I got a cool half a million to give a speech to Goldman Sach's traders" Clinton got the nomination and then proceeded to lose to none other than old-money multi-millionaire Donald Trump.

I mean, it's pretty obvious even before Reagan that the Hierarchy Of Power in the US has in many things had Money as a higher power than Democratically Elected Administration - or in other words, the inverse of the order that it should be in Democracy - and that has expanded to pretty much all things since.

The US (and several other so-called "Democratic" nations) hasn't had Democracy for many years.

100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it · 0 pts · 155d

No one is going to lend me money with a paltry $0.65 on my bank account and the prospect of a week of going to be bed on an empty stomach for dinner as collateral, though

e8CArkcAuLE@piefed.social · 17 pts · 156d (6 replies)

forbes just released their 40th billionaires list:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/pr/2026/03/10/forbes-40th-annual-worlds-billionaires-list-elon-musk-is-worlds-richest-person-ever-recorded/

but… their own link is 404. 🤔 interesting. suspicious coincidences one might say.
and while archive.org has multiple copies of every day, just since march 10th when the new one got released… their are no copies

NekoKoneko@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 156d (4 replies)

Thanks, the link works now.

$839 billion (Bernie's post misstates at 829). The most normal and human response to reading this list is to feel physically ill.

e8CArkcAuLE@piefed.social · 1 pts · 155d (3 replies)

https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/ still not working for me

frostysauce@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 155d (2 replies)

Works fine for me on Firefox on Android.

e8CArkcAuLE@piefed.social · 2 pts · 155d (1 reply)

hm, i’m not able to access it nor make copies with archive.org or archive.today

frostysauce@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 155d

How strange.

PunnyName@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 156d

Nice little hit list. We as a society need to whittle it down.

Blue Shell the rich.

Rivalarrival@lemmy.today · 15 pts · 156d

Eat the rich.

You remember the Turducken craze? TIme for a Mubezuckison.

kingshrubb@lemmy.ml · 14 pts · 155d (1 reply)

BigBrainBrett2517@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 155d

WTF gif

qevlarr@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 156d

There's a word for this: It's called Gleichschaltung

SethTaylor@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 156d (2 replies)

When the hell did Musk get to 800?

This is nuts! I blinked and it happened

Renat@szmer.info · 7 pts · 155d (1 reply)

If one ship cost is one bilion dollars(Elon once bought a yacht for one bilion dollars) he could fund all ships for Achaemenid Empire for Battle of Salamis.

teslekova@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 155d

Battle of Salamis with super yachts!

HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 10 pts · 156d (4 replies)

Why does every post ive seen like this leave out amazon?

MrVilliam@sh.itjust.works · 30 pts · 156d (1 reply)

Not defending it, but probably because Amazon isn't media or social media. Well, Prime video is media, but it's not a behemoth like Washington Post or CNN, so it's not really relevant in the same way. I think the intent is to point out that almost every information outlet the average person learns about the world from is owned by a group of people small enough to get a table at a restaurant without having to call ahead. Fallout and The Boys being bundled in with your online shopping aren't really influencing people in the same way.

normalentrance@lemmy.zip · 11 pts · 156d

Amazon serves up a vast amount of the Internet, has live video feeds of almost every neighborhood, is a big player in the AI space, is a retail giant, a movie studio, a streaming platform, and a logistics juggernaut.

It isn't strictly media/influence, but also so much more. Scary stuff.

jaek@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 156d (1 reply)

Bezos owns Amazon

HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 156d

Exactly. Which is why i ask my question

Zorque@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 156d (1 reply)

More an example of plutocracy, but definitely an example of both.

Unless he's specifically talking about corporate holdings, then it's oligopoly, not oligarchy.

Zombie@feddit.uk · 15 pts · 156d

It can be considered a form of oligarchy (rule by the few) where the ruling few are wealthy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutocracy

einlander@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 156d (4 replies)

No mention of Oracle?

Evotech@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 156d (2 replies)

Is that a media outlet?

Dojan@pawb.social · 1 pts · 155d (1 reply)

Name would be fitting. They're a law firm pretending to be a software company.

frisbird@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 155d

They're a CIA operation pretending to be a software company that is actually a law firm

zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 155d

Oracle probably doesn't mean anything to the typical person so Bernie didn't mention it, but Oracle owns a ton of shit which would have made ole Evil Larry an oligarch even before all these media company takeovers.

fitgse@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 156d (1 reply)

I thought it was Larry Ellison’s son that is about to own this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skydance_Media

lesinge@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 156d

Nepoligarchy?

Sirdubdee@piefed.social · 8 pts · 156d (1 reply)

Boycott billionaires

PunnyName@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 156d

Blue Shell billionaires

elbiter@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 155d

Of course it is. And is also about oligarchs giving orders to the media they control to not call them by that name.

gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 156d

Average American: "That won't stop me because I can't read! [Trump approval rating continues going lower]."

kreskin@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 156d

I dunno Bernie. The use of the word oligarchy makes me "feel a little queasy." But I guess I agree with you.

danciestlobster@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 156d

I don't think they are worth anywhere near that much, personally. Maybe in terms of dollars but certainly not to society....

kittykillinit@lemy.lol · 3 pts · 155d

Quick, let's vote for Hillary Clinton!

DupaCycki@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 155d

Factually incorrect. All of them are worth $0 at best.

Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 156d

Always was.

Gammelfisch@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 155d (1 reply)

The USA turning into Russia and China.

frisbird@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 155d

Y'all, who do you think owned the news media before this latest batch of billionaires owned it? Who do you think it owner it before them?

Hint: the rich have owned the news media in Western countries since before the fucking Opium Wars. It's been this way since China was a peasant country and Russia was a Tsarist feudal society.

JamesTBagg@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 155d

Plutocracy

6stringringer@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 156d (1 reply)
[ removed ]
yabbadabaddon@lemmy.zip · 9 pts · 156d

I think I miss context and reading comprehension because I don't understand this comment. Help.

HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 155d

Oligraphy cause we're all getting fucked.

BigTuffAl@lemmy.zip · -22 pts · 156d (2 replies)

bernie is a fucking failure and i don't really care what he says

PunnyName@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 156d (1 reply)

Elaborate?

Vetis@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 155d

Even with elaboration, I don't see how one could blame the bastion of common sense for this.

Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world · -83 pts · 156d (9 replies)

We know, Bernie. Go back in your crypt.

samus12345@sh.itjust.works · 38 pts · 156d (3 replies)

He's done far more than you to try and fight it. Why so hostile towards him?

Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world · -5 pts · 155d (2 replies)

STFU. It's a joke dumbass

frostysauce@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 155d (1 reply)

Jokes are supposed to be funny.

Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 155d

That's hilarious!

Skullgrid@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 156d (1 reply)

You go back to the white house

Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 155d

No you

SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world · -8 pts · 156d (2 replies)

Come on man he's only eighty-four I'm hoping he wins the 2028 primary so he can make america socialist again.

Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 156d (1 reply)

I'd vote for it

SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world · 3 pts · 156d

Me too!

He's so virile.