The Looming Alliance: Elites, Right-Wing Agendas, and Scapegoating

A world divided: The unholy alliance of power, profit, and prejudice

As we enter the new year, the convergence of global and local crises has become stark and undeniable. Recent events reveal a dangerous alignment between economic elites, right-wing ideologies, and mechanisms of profit and control. This convergence cultivates an environment where poverty deepens, fear becomes a weapon, and the specter of conflict looms ever larger.

The Musk-Trump Nexus: Collusion of Elites with the Right

Elon Musk (and Vivek Ramaswamy) embody the seamless fusion of neoliberal policies with right-wing populism. Both champions expanding the H1-B visa program to attract skilled foreign labor, pointing to an alleged domestic talent shortage in sectors like technology and space exploration. Musk frames the recruitment of skilled immigrants as analogous to building a championship sports team, prioritizing talent regardless of origin.

This position has created fissures within the MAGA movement, with figures like Laura Loomer denouncing the tech sector for marginalizing American workers. The controversy intensified after President-elect Donald Trump named Indian-American tech entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan as an AI policy adviser, further exposing ideological fault lines over immigration and skilled foreign labor.

Despite these tensions, the alliance between elites and right-wing factions endures, propelled by their shared ultra-neoliberal agenda. Their advocacy for immigrant labor serves as a wage suppression mechanism, treating mass poverty as an acceptable consequence while deploying rhetoric that scapegoats vulnerable groups to obscure systemic exploitation. Their true compass points not to ideology but to the ruthless pursuit of power and profit. Regardless of the consequences and through any means possible.

This alignment transcends national boundaries. From Germany's AfD to Spain’s Vox, to the annual CPAC meetings and Argentina's far-right libertarian President Javier Milei: similar strategies echo across continents as if singing in unison. Milei's recent push for anti-worker labor reform exemplifies this trend, introducing measures to extend workdays to 12 hours, eliminate overtime compensation, and permit companies to partially pay workers with vouchers redeemable only at designated businesses. Though branded as the "Law on Promotion of Investment and Employment," it represents an unsettling regression in labor rights—eerily reminiscent of the exploitative practices that defined the early 20th century.

With such economic prospects lying ahead for all who will be or are already under the auspices of ultra-neoliberal governments, even tragedies are used to push narratives aimed at dividing the populace—divide et impera.

Magdeburg and the Weaponization of Tragedy

The tragic events in Magdeburg, where a Saudi national drove a car into a Christmas market, causing multiple fatalities, exemplify how crises become weapons in the arsenal of anti-immigrant rhetoric (which is now fused with a retrograde neoliberal economic prospect). The perpetrator, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, was an ex-Muslim known for Islamophobic views and AfD sympathies—facts that complicate the conventional narrative.

The AfD's response was swift and calculated, organizing rallies that called for a "time of reckoning" while promoting unfounded theories that the attacker was a covert jihadist despite contrary evidence. This manufactured narrative serves to deflect attention from their own destructive plans in terms of economic policies, redirecting public anger toward migrants.

This manipulation follows a well-worn playbook: exploiting the "other" to distract from systemic failures—whether economic inequality, social decay, or the erosion of public services. Right-wing parties flourish in this environment of manufactured fear. At the same time, elites perpetuate these narratives, finding it more expedient to villainize migrants while working against the common good through the manipulation of governmental policies.

A parallel scenario unfolded in New Orleans following a New Year's Day rampage. Initial reports suggesting the vehicle used had crossed the US-Mexico border ignited anti-immigrant sentiment. Though later debunked, the false narrative persisted, reinforcing prejudices against immigrants and Muslims, even after the perpetrator was identified as U.S.-born.

On the other side of the coin, is the silence on other tragic incidents that would have caused much more waves a few years ago.

The Media's Calculated Silence

The brutal assault on Robert Brooks by various security officials in prison has received conspicuously little mainstream media coverage. Such violence would have once sparked widespread outrage; today, it meets a wall of silence.

This deliberate omission reveals the broader complicity of elites—many controlling media empires—who benefit from societal chaos, scapegoating, and despair. Through narrative control, they divert attention from structural inequities, preserving their dominance while war profiteering looms on the horizon.

Peter Thiel and Elite Moral Paralysis

The elite class's moral confusion finds perfect expression in Peter Thiel who, despite enabling right-wing policies, struggles to articulate his position publicly. His recent stammering response to questions about a health insurance CEO's murder reveals more than mere hesitation—it exposes the moral bankruptcy at the heart of elite power.

These power brokers implement policies that generate poverty and health crises yet recoil from confronting their complicity. While their scapegoating strategies currently target minorities, the scope could easily expand to encompass the broader impoverished population. This dynamic proves essential for maintaining neoliberal policies, which thrive on polarization and misdirection.

The Bigger Picture: Manufacturing Consent for Conflict

These interwoven strategies—normalizing poverty, fostering division, and scapegoating the vulnerable—lay the psychological groundwork for societal acceptance of conflict. When people are conditioned to view their neighbors rather than systemic failures as the source of their hardship, they become more receptive to militarization and war as inevitable outcomes.

This orchestrated collaboration between elites and right-wing ideologues serves a clear purpose: protecting profit at any human cost. The embrace of neoliberal policies, the media's strategic blindness, and the escalating demonization of vulnerable groups portend a darker future taking shape before our eyes.

Ultra-retrograde conservatives ultimately seek not just to reverse progress but to deepen social fissures that prevent collective action for common benefit. By engineering widespread poverty and social antagonism, they ensure no cohesive working-class consciousness can emerge to challenge their supremacy. Their north star remains profit—regardless of the human toll.

Paths Forward

While confronting these entrenched forces may seem daunting, awareness represents the crucial first step. Our imperative lies in resisting divisive narratives and demanding accountability from those who profit from our divisions. Only through solidarity, not scapegoating, can we forge a path forward. The stakes—our shared future—are too high for passivity.

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