Wealth, power and the delusion of invincibility

America may be one of the wealthiest and the most powerful countries in the world, in many ways, but it has also become the epicentre of human fallibility and a gross lack of moral clarity – a spotlight is being focused on the out-of-control greed and gross abuse of power. The Jeffrey Epstein scandal does not only expose the wealthy and the elite’s grotesque criminal activity and the vulnerability of underage children, especially girls, it highlights the hypocrisy of the supposedly Christian American society and a country that views itself as the safest and most caring in relation to human rights; it reveals a broader problem of misogyny, shows up the immorality of consolidating power on the wealthy elite at the expense of the most vulnerable in society, and it highlights the injustice within the justice system.

We would like to view the MAGA empowered Trump government for what it is – a true reflection of global society today where greed dominates human systems; the rich control most resources and power, and where rules do not apply to the wealthy and well-connected. The wealthy and elite shape the world in their image and spend millions in ensuring it works well. This is a world where the average citizen does not belong but must somehow try to fit in the margins and wait for invitation to pick up crumbs. We have insane levels of poverty across the globe, yet sections of society have excess that they would rather throw away than give to those in need.

Over 77 million Americans gave Trump their mandate after he told them mainly the truth of what he was about. It was and remains clear from his speeches that MAGA’s ideology is founded on immoral impulses, and cruelty is its main counsellor. However, vile, disruptive, and disturbing as it is both at home and abroad, the presidency lays bare the darker side of American society that, for years, had been hidden away from the view of the average citizen and especially from the rest of the world; this is the side that the rest of the world was not prepared to accept existed because it wanted a sane leader after the brutal Second World War.

There are endemic safety problems secondary to inequality in the distribution and access to resources, wealth, greed and a sense of entitlement of the wealthy and the powerful abound. The MAGA world is a world founded on the interests of white Christian straight (or those who identify as such in public) men; a world built for men, the wealthy elite able to work with religious and traditional leaders to manipulate the poor to do their dirty work is an unsafe world for the average person; it oppresses women, suppresses the rights of the average person and the vulnerable in society (migrants and non-White citizens).

Accountability is least in the priorities of Trump, hence his avoidance of Epstein files. Epstein was an American financier and convicted sex offender who engaged in the sex trafficking and sexual abuse of several underage girls from across the globe in an operation described as a “vast network” or “sexual pyramid” scheme, involved luring minors as young as 14 with promises of work or massages and then paying them to recruit other girls.

In this world, legal systems pivot towards the best interests of the wealthy, the powerful and the well-connected. We live in a world where criminals with the resources to hire the best lawyers can be cleared by the law not because they are innocent but because the prosecution could not prove the alleged guilt beyond reasonable doubt. This is because the legal system’s “presumption of innocence” requires the burden of proof to be on the prosecution, not the defendant, and an acquittal simply means this standard was not met, not that guilt was disproven.

We argue that the injustice within the justice system is a function of a multiplicity of factors including socioeconomic inequality which favours those who can afford better legal representation and bail, corruption, lack of access to legal aid, bias in the treatment of victims, and systemic racial or tribal discrimination, leading to disproportionate arrests and harsher sentences for minority groups.

Epstein was able to operate freely for as long as he did because he was too connected to the rich and powerful to be touchable to standard systems that govern the rest of society. We also see his partner and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell being treated favourable by the prison system.  

The Epstein criminal activity may have had its capital in the USA, Palm Beach, but this had a global reach and impact. Clearly it was a case of very powerful men exploiting vulnerable underage girls. Worryingly, this is not the beginning or end of it. Unless  average citizens organise and use their numbers to translate into power for their own use, rich old men who believe they are invincible will continue to prey on vulnerable children.