Thread by @PeterRelph

Suppose that you were a powerful rich person with powerful rich friends who want to take power over literally everything.
What would be the first step?
I suggest buying those who currently have power in each area you to wish to control, the governments & the press.
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⬆You need the press, the mass media, because they control everything that the people think they know. They have always pushed their own barrows, their owner's interests, they can easily rejig to your needs which are almost identical.

Next the government:
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⬆Government is your main local power, they control the police, armed forces, ministerial paramilitary.
National governments in particular are a rich greedy person's wet dream. They can create literally unlimited funds & they can write laws to allow them to give them to you.
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⬆So, how to control a national government?
Assuming a supposed Westminster democracy, you would have to buy at least 2 parties who can pretend, with help from the mass media, that they oppose each other, whilst both actually doing whatever you demand of them.
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⬆If say your target was Australia, you have a head start, fascists in the last World War already set up the Liberal Party & a fascist sleeper cell the Institute of Public Affairs. In the UK the Institute of Economic Affairs, & in America, take your pick, fascists everywhere.
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⬆So, even without a ready made Liberal Party, at least one party, possibly more, will have members greedy & venal enough to recognise what you can bring to them individually, a lush lazy sinecure for life on retirement to add to the pension a grateful nation pays them
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⬆Assuming the one innately corrupt party, what if the other party were in a decent socialist phase, how to buy them?
This is where the press first come in, with a propaganda blitzkrieg to get the people onside, then a coup by your establishment mates.
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⬆This should be enough to knock out any decent people in the party & leave the corruptible ones to re-establish the party in your favour.
They must not admit to this reversal, the members must not guess at this subversion, they must still imagine the party as it was before.
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⬆This is the point where you have full control, you control the parties who select the candidates for election (as they always did).
If a candidate beats your preference at pre-selection you can get the party to destroy the first choice & elect your puppet.
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⬆It doesn't matter from here on which of your parties wins government, any token changes by the softer party can be undone once the hardline duopoly member gets in again & the softer party will always vote to support the hardline party when they are in power.
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⬆Meanwhile both parties will continue to funnel public money to you & give you for-profit functions in the Public Service.
They will continue undermining employment & welfare conditions to give you workers willing to work for near-slave conditions.
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⬆So you get feudal conditions where you get cheap labour & the power to do whatever you like.
Even if the people wake up to your subterfuge now, it is too late, all the Police State Laws are in place.
You have achieved your wildest dream, total power.
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