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At the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, it is clear that humanity will struggle to deal with the existential threats that it faces. The past year \u201chanded\u201d 2025 all the dead ends that became evident in democracy, the economy and journalism. Democracy, as if wishing to prove the paradox at its heart (that voters can choose the catastrophic option), elected an autocrat and wholly unsuitable person to the highest office of the world\u2019s only democratic superpower. Capitalism produced the phenomenon personified by Elon Musk, whereby a handful of people acquire inconceivable wealth and with this they determine not only political developments but also the very way in which many think (via the social networks and news media that they own). The hunt for individual wealth \u2013 which is, ostensibly open to all, as an \u201cinvisible hand\u201d is supposed to keep balance \u2013 has inequality at its core, because it is this which challenges people to improve their position. In our time, though, the game is fixed, at the expense of the poor, as they never get the chance to even things out. On the contrary, the wealthiest do not hide the fact that they aim to control power while not being subject to any control themselves. And journalism is suspected of serving the interests of one or other group of the divided population, not the whole.<\/p>\n
The \u201ctangled interests\u201d in which we Greeks have a long tradition at the level of politics-wealth-journalism have taken on a global dimension. In autocratic regimes, political power controls and exploits wealth and the public debate with the purpose of strengthening its own position. In democracy, we have reached the climax of the system\u2019s weaknesses: the richest man in the world buying a powerful news medium and the presidency of the United States. Furthermore, the same person, Musk, is intervening in the politics of other democracies \u2013 such as Germany and Britain \u2013 in support of extremist, divisive forces, while groveling at the feet of autocrats to further his interests. We ought to keep in mind, though, that neither Trump nor Musk would have gained such power \u2013 and might not have troubled public opinion at all \u2013 if there were not a long-term erosion of the power of institutions (especially of the judiciary) as part of a plan funded by billionaires, if the weakening of control mechanisms were not a policy priority of conservatives, if the credibility of \u201clegacy\u201d news media had not been undermined already. The capture of political and judicial power, the impunity of powerful economic agents, and the division which thrives on all this, eradicate the very concept of impartial information, of news in the service of truth and the common good. Even if news media are flawless, citizens judge them on the basis of what they already believe, agreeing with them or rejecting them.<\/p>\n
The political landscape in the United States today shows what happens when democracy\u2019s checks don\u2019t function, when the institutions protect neither themselves nor the whole population. The social contract between power and the people cannot endure this for long. And the more reactions that this provokes, the more technological and police suppression there will be, until democracy and oligarchy differ only in name. This is a watershed moment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n