Are We Heading For a Oligarchic World
Order....and What Would that Mean?
Course full. To go onto the waiting list, e-mail us at [email protected]
It's not just Trump. It's much bigger than that.
As we all know the world order is in a state of extreme flux. The “Pax Americana” unipolar order is over. At best we are in a multipolar order dominated by a few large states. Actually, we are more likely in a fragmented world order with most states unaligned and acting situationally based on whatever circumstance faces them. What now appears to be emerging is an order dominated by a few, maybe 100 ultra-powerful people who control vast resources, military assets, media or essential technologies. Some of these people are heads of state but many are not, and they are able to largely ignore the constraints of national laws, and even international laws and norms. In many cases non-state actors are able to strongly influence, if not dictate state policy and action.
Who are these people? You know some of them: Trump, Putin, Xi, MBS, Musk, Bezos, Gates, Zuckerberg and Rupert Murdoch. But there are quite a few more, some in the open, some in the shadows. More open ones include Peter Thiel, Larry Fink, Sam Altman and Jamie Dimon. There are many others, not only in the U.S., but in Russia, China, the UAE, Qatar, the UK. The oligarchs influence not only what happens in their own countries, but globally. They represent a class that “makes the weather” globally.
In this course we’ll look at the growing phenomenon of global oligarchy, and how the power of oligarchs is shaping the global system. Are we actually moving towards an oligarchic world order or are we already there? We’ll consider whether they are here to stay, gain even more power or whether they can be stopped. Most of all, what does it mean people and societies?
Moderator: John Simke
Dates and Times: Fridays March 7 through 28 (4 weeks), 2-4PM
Location: Northrop Frye Building, Victoria College, University of Toronto, 91 Charles Street West
Cost: $48
Enrolment: To enrol see the shopping basket below. See Terms