How can you have a useful democracy if the people voting are not accurately informed? Sachs is pointing out that a very small number of billionaires hold enormous political influence.

 Collective Evolution

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How can you have a useful democracy if the people voting are not accurately informed? Sachs is pointing out that a very small number of billionaires hold enormous political influence.

Many of these same ultra-wealthy individuals also control major information platforms, including news outlets and social media. The narratives being pushed and the algorithms shaping what we see often serve to protect the future these billionaires want to create. Political power and control over information end up reinforcing each other.

This is why the US has effectively been operating under some form of plutocracy or oligarchy for decades. It's not new. It's just that more people are starting to recognize it and talk about it now, plus it's trendy to admit now.

If democracy feels like little more than a pacifying illusion, you're starting to see the story falling apart for you. For change to come and a new story to be built, the old one has to fall away

When people don't have access to genuinely independent, reliable media, how can they make informed choices?

One of the biggest problems facing the media is the need to be profitable. Once an outlet depends on paying subscribers, it also becomes dependent on keeping that audience happy. That often means reinforcing the narratives people already believe rather than challenging them. Over time, the outlet becomes captive to its own audience. Change the narrative, and you risk losing subscribers. So how can media truly thrive in that environment?

Even on Facebook, most of the pages that constantly have well performing content rely on very misleading headlines, fake news, or very hyperbolic takes. They laugh their way to the bank - some of them might even believe what they write, and there is little financial incentive to question it, as their revenue will drop.

I've been in media for 17 years, and trust me, I've seen it all. You either play the game and give people the narratives they want to hear, even when they're misleading, or risk losing your paying audience over time