Restricting individual wealth

The Gracchi brothers brothers, Gaius and Tiberius, were tribunes, the equivalent of our deputies, and they wanted to tackle the problems of the time. The rich were few in number but owned almost all the land. As they produced all the cereals, they agreed among themselves to set a high price and brought in foreigners to work for very low wages that Roman citizens would not accept. By 133 B.C., Rome was plunged into widespread poverty, which tormented the city. The Gracchus brothers passed a law called property, which stated that property had a limit in quantity, beyond which it was toxic for society, and a limit in use, according to which just because it’s mine doesn’t mean I can do what I want with it. The Gracchi brothers were seized by the rich and their henchmen and thrown into the Tribe. What followed was 100 years of civil war between the plebs and the rich, before Emperor Augustus established the laws of the Gracchus brothers, taking advantage of the turmoil caused by the death of Julius Caesar (who had won the civil war by fighting the ultra-rich). Four hundred years of peace and prosperity followed.

In 1930, in France, judges created the public water utility, nationalizing the sources. This showed that private property is not sacred. They expropriated the owners, and that was normal. Léon Blum was harassed and left office.

Labour’s 1945 victory in the UK led to the expropriation of mine owners. Ownership is not absolute. Owners became less wealthy and this drove them below the toxic limit.

Franklin D. Roosevelt led major campaigns to nationalize energy, raw materials, armaments and roads, and introduced public granaries (the state buys food to guarantee prices). The group prevailed over private property. If ownership went against the group’s interests, nationalization could be considered. He took the assets appropriated by the ultra-rich and redistributed the gains for the general good. The New Deal brought prosperity to America for 40 years. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is the only American president to have been elected four times, and he died in office. He had strong public support. The United States is reputed to be capitalist by nature, but this is a myth. When presented with a very socialist program, the people embrace it. Michael Moore in Fahrenheit 11/9 used polls to prove that Americans’ aspirations are not capitalist. 70% are for health insurance, 62% are for unions, 58% are against supporting banks, 61% for raising the minimum wage, etc. (cf. American people’s choice).

Franklin D. Roosevelt – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt

New Deal – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal

On November 24, 2013, a law was passed in Switzerland limiting wages to 250 times the minimum wage. This means that for the highest wages to rise, the lowest wages must be increased. The rich are very happy in Switzerland. By way of comparison, in France in 2019, CAC40 bosses earned 1128 times the salary of their most modest employees.

In Ukraine in 2022, President Zelensky took advantage of exceptional war powers to nationalize the banks, TV channels and industries owned by the oligarchs. The oligarchs were so wealthy that they decided everything in the country, while the Ukrainian coffers were empty.

When Elon Musk intervenes in the war in Ukraine, it’s too much. When Mark Zuckerberg promotes Trump’s election to enrich himself, it’s too much. When someone is rich enough to have their own space program or has more money than a country, it’s too much. When your decisions can ruin the lives of millions of people even though you weren’t elected, it’s too much. When the richest 1% of humanity emit 100 times more greenhouse gases than the other 99%, it’s too much.

These people deserve to be rich, but not that rich. They have never given back to society what society gave them in the first place. They offer philanthropy in return, but it’s selective solidarity because they decide how much and to whom they give the money. The society has trained their employees with schools and universities; they are healthy thanks to hospitals, there are roads, railroads and airports to transport their goods. There is a police force and an army to protect them, and a justice system to enforce their rights. There are natural resources to feed their industries, and so on.

What’s more, they influence politicians to pay less tax and inheritance tax. Most of the richest people inherited. They have done nothing for society. They don’t pay their fair share of taxes.

Les 1 % les plus riches ont empoché plus de 40 000 milliards de dollars au cours des 10 dernières années, alors que le niveau d’imposition des plus riches atteint des niveaux historiquement bas – Oxfam: https://www.oxfam.org/fr/communiques-presse/les-1-les-plus-riches-ont-empoche-plus-de-40-000-milliards-de-dollars-au-cours

Les riches menacent-ils la démocratie – Arte: https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/109816-010-A/les-riches-menacent-ils-la-democratie/

Columbia University believes that $100 million is the limit. It’s more than enough for the individual and not enough to be toxic.

Limit On Wealth – Stephen H. Unger: http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~unger/articles/wealthLimit.html)

What, if Anything, is Wrong with Extreme wealth – Ingrid Robeyns: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/19452829.2019.1633734?needAccess=true&role=button

Having too Much – Ingrid Robeyns: https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0338

Capitalisme américain, le culte de la richesse (1/3) | ARTE: https://youtu.be/0j1UDBqR-oM?feature=shared

Faire casquer les riches | Capitalisme américain, le culte de la richesse (2/3) | ARTE: https://youtu.be/uccQqNg2tF8?si=3hep4x297rSSZ7Bu

Elon Musk: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO): https://youtu.be/Eo3zORUGCbM?si=TUxpdymb6rV3Xd2x

Noir Désir – L’homme pressé: https://youtu.be/by1RRP9wa_Y?si=mK5wb4sZn3YnRsB8