Rule by the rich: Western governments are oligarchies, not democracies

The one-sided trade agreement that Donald Trump imposed on the EU illustrates how the US empire exploits its "allies" in Europe as vassals to benefit the American oil/gas industry, Big Tech corporations, and the military-industrial complex. This did not start with Trump, but he has accelerated the vassalization of the European Union. Political economist Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpf6ZeABP1I Topics 0:00 Intro 1:04 US empire doesn't have allies, only vassals 2:14 US-EU trade deal & tariffs 5:19 China defended itself in trade war 6:19 Ursula von der Leyen on US energy 7:28 (CLIP) Trump on US-EU trade deal 7:54 USA benefits 8:15 (CLIP) Trump: "the biggest of all the deals" 8:28 Europe gets nothing 9:11 (CLIP) US makes no concessions to EU 9:57 (CLIP) Trump on US fossil fuel exports 10:20 US gets everything, EU gets nothing 11:02 Vassalization of Europe 12:27 BRICS expansion 13:22 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte 14:03 (CLIP) NATO chief calls Trump "daddy" 14:17 Trump addresses "daddy" comment 14:42 (CLIP) Trump: I'm NATO's "daddy" 15:03 Trump leaks humiliating text messages 16:26 Failure of EU "strategic autonomy" 17:18 NATO demands military spending at 5% of GDP 18:42 US military-industrial complex benefits 20:14 Paying imperial tribute 20:48 Replacing welfare state with warfare state 21:44 EU spending on education 22:08 EU spending on healthcare 22:33 Trump & MAGA take off the mask 23:26 VP JD Vance attacks Europe 23:40 Kissinger: "to be America's friend is fatal" 24:20 Trump boasts of ending Nord Stream 25:39 (CLIP) Trump: "I ended Nord Stream 2" 25:59 US targets European infrastructure 26:26 (CLIP) Trump: US wants to sell oil/gas 26:53 US attacks European "allies" 27:27 Sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines 28:05 Who blew up Nord Stream? 29:20 West opposed UN investigation 30:06 Polish official said US blew up Nord Stream 30:47 Historical amnesia 31:17 Why Germany wanted Nord Stream 32:34 (CLIP) Trump: Europe must buy US oil/gas 32:48 Trump pressured Angela Merkel on Russia 33:15 (CLIP) Trump: Europe must cut Russia ties 34:12 Trump sanctioned Nord Stream 34:55 USA seeks to divide Europe & Russia 35:39 Biden threatened Nord Stream 36:02 (CLIP) Biden: We will end Nord Stream 36:36 Bipartisan vassalage 37:30 US energy exports to Europe 38:08 EU imports of oil 39:25 EU imports of natural gas 39:56 EU imports of LNG 40:45 Climate change catastrophe 41:20 Germany re-opens coal plants 42:00 Germany's pro-war "Greens" 43:19 US imperial strategy: divide Europe 44:56 Imperialist Mackinder's heartland theory 45:28 US fears of Europe-Russia alliance 46:23 NATO's goal: keep US on top 47:24 Deindustrialization of Europe 47:59 EU attacks top trading partner China 48:40 Why are EU leaders Atlanticists? 49:01 EU leaders are literally crying 49:26 EU elites invest in US financial assets 51:57 US Big Tech corporations 52:35 Comprador bourgeoisie 53:48 Western oligarchies 55:00 US empire fears Eurasian integration 56:15 Trump tries to divide Russia & China 56:33 Europe is at a geopolitical crossroads 58:36 Outro

As US president, Donald Trump's policies have served the interests of wealthy elites, while hurting average working people and splitting his own MAGA base. Geopolitical economist Radhika Desai discusses with economist Michael Hudson. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cUksS_aN_8 This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP Radhika's website: https://RadhikaDesai.com Michael's website: https://Michael-Hudson.com

China and Russia help formerly colonized countries in the Global South defend their sovereignty amid constant US meddling and aggression, argues Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, a Latin American country that has been invaded and militarily occupied by the USA multiple times. Ben Norton reports on the history of the Sandinista Revolution, and the struggle against Western imperialism. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-xjUmwZxQY Topics 0:00 Global South is Global Majority 0:54 US interventions in Latin America 1:59 US imperialism in Nicaragua 3:12 CIA-backed Contras 5:18 Coup attempts in Nicaragua 6:03 China builds infrastructure 7:58 Nicaragua praises China & Russia 9:22 (CLIP) Daniel Ortega on China & Russia 10:11 46th anniversary of Sandinista Revolution 11:04 (CLIP) Ortega on European colonialism 11:33 US colonialist William Walker 13:19 (CLIP) Daniel Ortega on US imperialism 13:47 US military occupation & Sandino 14:32 Somoza dictatorship 15:22 US Contra war 16:29 (CLIP) Ortega on the Contras 17:54 ICJ case Nicaragua v USA 19:20 Inspirations for Sandinistas 20:17 (CLIP) Ortega on Haitian Revolution 21:43 Simón Bolívar on US imperialism 22:34 Algerian Revolution 23:00 Russian & Chinese Revolutions 23:13 (CLIP) Revolutions in Russia & China 23:46 USSR & China defeated fascism in WWII 25:13 Remilitarization of Europe 25:54 (CLIP) Ortega: West prepares for war 26:34 Fascism has roots in European colonialism 27:36 (CLIP) Ortega on fascism & colonialism 29:57 Palestine 31:07 (CLIP) Daniel Ortega on Palestine 32:01 Iran 32:23 UN is dominated by Western powers 32:59 United Nations & Miguel d'Escoto 34:19 UN can't stop illegal US wars 34:56 (CLIP) Ortega: We need a new UN 36:03 Global South perspectives 37:21 Outro

Western governments claim to be models of democracy, and demonize their geopolitical adversaries as "authoritarian", but empirical evidence shows that the USA and European countries are oligarchies dominated by economic elites and large corporations. Billionaire Donald Trump is the perfect symbol of this, but he's by no means the only one. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BONnmHRmp_M Topics 0:00 Narrative of Western "democracies" 0:26 (CLIP) Joe Biden on "democracy vs autocracy" 0:37 Western governments are oligarchies 1:54 Summary of oligarchic Western leaders 2:54 Scientific research shows USA is an oligarchy 4:29 US public opinion on healthcare 5:20 Money buys 80-90% of seats in US Congress 6:27 Citizens United ruling 7:21 Donald Trump: perfect symbol of US oligarchy 7:57 Robber barons 8:44 One Big Beautiful Bill: class war by the rich 9:49 Billionaires pay lower tax rate than most Americans 10:42 US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent 11:35 Ex US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin 12:16 Steve Bannon worked for Goldman Sachs 12:58 US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick 13:07 Crypto was taken over by Wall Street 14:08 Trump is the symptom, not the cause 15:07 Biden promised nothing would change 16:07 Barack Obama: funded by Wall Street 17:53 Mitt Romney: servant of Wall Street 18:48 Super PACs 19:32 Bloomberg funded Biden's 2020 race 19:56 Billionaires funded Trump's 2024 race 20:35 Elon Musk donated $288 million for Trump 20:57 (CLIP) Elon Musk bought 2024 US election 21:11 World's richest man buys US politics 21:34 Wall Street wages war on Zohran Mamdani 22:46 Democratic Party sabotaged Bernie Sanders 24:34 UK Labour Party sabotaged Jeremy Corbyn 26:18 British spy agencies sabotaged Jeremy Corbyn 28:15 Symbol of UK oligarchy: Rishi Sunak 31:37 Neoliberal Keir Starmer: Tony Blair reincarnated 32:35 France's President of the rich: Emmanuel Macron 36:04 BlackRock's man in Germany: Friedrich Merz 37:40 Goldman Sachs' man in Italy: Mario Draghi 39:10 Goldman Sachs' man in Canada: Mark Carney 40:22 Summary of oligarchic Western leaders 41:35 Western governments are not democracies 42:45 Outro

The New York Times finally admitted Israel is carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, in an article by an Israeli scholar who studies the Holocaust. A United Nations report detailed how US corporations are profiting from these crimes, although the Trump administration responded by imposing sanctions on the UN expert who exposed it, Francesca Albanese. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb082pTy-Nw Topics 0:00 US media whitewashes Israel's crimes 0:43 NY Times admits: Israel is committing genocide 3:43 Evidence of genocidal intent 5:24 NYT's pro-Israel propaganda 6:26 NY Times spread Iraq "WMDs" lies 7:17 No longer possible to deny reality 8:01 Ex EU foreign policy chief admits truth 9:42 (CLIP) Josep Borrell "garden" & "jungle" rant 9:55 Fears of justice 10:39 Nakba: History of colonialism in Palestine 11:37 Ex Israeli PM warns of concentration camps 12:28 Israeli genocide impossible without US support 13:01 Trump & Biden give Israel billions in weapons 13:42 US military-industrial complex benefits 14:24 UN report: US corporations profit from Gaza genocide 15:06 Big Tech monopolies in "Magnificent 7" 15:33 Palantir profits 16:29 IBM profits from Holocaust 17:18 Trump admin sanctions UN expert 18:13 (CLIP) UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese 18:53 USA attacks UN human rights experts 20:22 Bush family & US corporations profited from Holocaust 21:09 Andrew Feinstein's powerful words 22:04 Fascism is colonialism turned inward 24:40 Imperialism: true face of Western "democracies" 25:43 Israel's genocidal intent was always clear 27:08 Don't erase history 28:01 Outro

Close Donald Trump allies like Steve Bannon say "the president is pissed every time he looks at the BRICS de-dollarization effort". The US government fears the Global South's challenge to the exorbitant privilege of the dollar. Trump is trying to make an example out of Brazil, threatening high tariffs to punish Lula da Silva, who promotes a multipolar world and a new global reserve currency. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MguxV2HZWVk As Trump threatens BRICS, it grows stronger, resisting US dollar and Western imperialism: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/07/10/trump-threat-brics-us-dollar-western-imperialism/ Topics 0:00 (CLIP) Trump: "The dollar is king" 0:17 Western imperialists fear BRICS 1:20 Trump threatens tariffs on BRICS 1:37 Dedollarization enrages Trump 3:21 (CLIP) Trump's angry rant against BRICS 4:43 Schrödinger's BRICS 5:24 US officials demonize BRICS 6:00 Non-Aligned Movement 7:18 US divide-and-conquer strategy 7:58 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia and China 8:16 US empire is failing 9:00 Trump attacks Brazil 10:07 Brazilian President Lula da Silva 10:52 Jair Bolsonaro, Trump ally 11:26 Bolsonaro's failed coup attempt 12:07 Elon Musk meddles in Brazil 13:00 US-sponsored coups in Latin America 14:29 Elon Musk: "We will coup whoever we want" 15:27 US-backed coups in Brazil 18:01 Brazil pushes back against US meddling 19:52 Multipolarity 20:35 Dedollarization 21:08 Gold 22:30 US empire's main weapon: the dollar 24:06 Sanctions: economic warfare 24:53 BRICS develops alternatives 25:30 End of US dollar's exorbitant privilege 27:29 Why Trump is afraid 28:46 Outro

US President Donald Trump has threatened heavy tariffs on BRICS, claiming the organization is "dead", but it is actually growing in size and influence. 10 members and 10 partners participated in the 2025 BRICS summit in Brazil, where they discussed plans for dedollarization, trade and investment in national currencies, and how to create a more multipolar global order. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmR03QFdhfs Topics 0:00 Trump attacks BRICS 0:25 (CLIP) Trump claims "BRICS is dead" 1:16 BRICS is growing 1:49 BRICS: 10 members & 10 partners 2:26 BRICS: 44% of global GDP (PPP) 2:41 BRICS: 56% of world population 2:55 Vietnam joins BRICS 3:27 Cuba joins BRICS 4:11 Mexico attends BRICS summit 4:58 Trump threatens tariffs on BRICS 6:07 Trump doesn't understand BRICS 6:21 (CLIP) Trump claims Spain is in BRICS 6:58 Lula: World doesn't want an "emperor" 8:03 Dedollarization 8:31 (CLIP) Trump threats to save US dollar 8:48 BRICS promotes dedollarization 9:54 Brazil challenges US dollar dominance 10:44 New Development Bank (NDB) 11:03 US meddling in Colombia 11:50 US-backed coup in Bolivia 13:01 US-backed judicial coup in Brazil 13:40 BRICS trade in local currencies 14:38 Dedollarization: slow and steady 15:29 Dedollarization in BRICS declaration 17:32 IMF alternative: Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) 20:29 New international financial system 21:27 Vladimir Putin's speech 21:48 Why the absence of Xi Jinping and Putin? 23:31 Why Iran's president did not attend 24:22 China's view of BRICS 26:15 Goals of BRICS 27:03 Financial imperialism: the "reverse Marshall Plan" 30:28 Billionaire oligarchs 31:58 Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim 32:22 Non-Aligned Movement 33:37 (CLIP) BRICS inspired by Non-Aligned Movement 35:02 (CLIP) Malaysia PM on de-dollarization 35:44 Bandung Conference 36:46 (CLIP) Malaysia PM: BRICS follows Bandung 37:27 Decolonization and multipolarity 39:57 NATO militarization and warmongering 40:32 Climate change 41:17 Palestine and Iran 41:57 Multilateralism under attack by USA 42:50 Imperialism vs democracy 43:27 Capitalist oligarchy 43:43 Trump: symbol of US imperialism 44:28 Meaning of BRICS 45:14 Outro

BRICS has expanded to 20 countries - 10 members and 10 partners - after adding Vietnam. BRICS+ now makes up 43.93% of world GDP (PPP) and 55.61% of the global population. Ben Norton explains how the US failed to divide China and Vietnam in the Second Cold War. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZUeShGMarI Sources, links, and downloadable charts here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/07/04/brics-expansion-population-gdp-vietnam Asia is uniting, creating a new post-West global order: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRGkCw-Sqk0 Topics 0:00 Vietnam joins BRICS 0:42 History of BRICS expansion 1:01 BRICS membership 1:21 Map of BRICS+ 1:30 BRICS: 44% of global GDP (PPP) 1:50 BRICS: 56% of world population 2:26 Cold War and Non-Aligned Movement 3:33 USA tries to divide Vietnam & China 5:07 Vietnam's foreign policy is non-aligned 5:53 Timing of Vietnam's decision 6:47 Trump's tariffs 7:39 China improves relations with Vietnam 8:32 Complex history of China-Vietnam relations 10:47 Vietnam's "Four Nos" 11:48 China's non-alignment 12:17 Similarities of Chinese & Vietnamese socialist system 13:36 Vietnam's economic development 15:32 Incomes in Vietnam & China 16:40 Socialist market economy 17:22 Life expectancy in Vietnam & China 18:38 Popularity of Vietnamese & Chinese governments 19:34 Western capitalist oligarchy 21:11 Global South alternatives 21:57 The ASEAN Way 22:37 ASEAN-GCC-China Summit 23:16 Outro

Iran has used its status as a leading oil and gas producer to promote dedollarization, rejecting the US dollar and trading with China, Russia, India, and other BRICS members in their national currencies. Ben Norton explains the Western economic war on Iran, and Tehran's response. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ziGNmvOh6k US pressures Saudi Arabia to sell oil in dollars, not Chinese yuan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmYybJZo3fo The real reasons for the US-Israeli war on Iran, explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwH780cEcEQ Topics 0:00 US dollar's "exorbitant privilege" 0:50 Sanctions: weaponization of US dollar 1:33 De-dollarization 3:54 Economic warfare 5:15 History of US meddling in Iran 6:41 Geopolitics of oil 7:22 Iranian leaders promote de-dollarization 8:42 BRICS trade in national currencies 10:33 Iran's oil and gas production 10:51 Gulf flirts with petroyuan 11:34 History of petrodollar system 12:31 OPEC oil embargo 13:55 Saudi King Faisal 14:30 OPEC oil embargo 14:55 Nixon-Kissinger deal with Saudis 16:50 Super Imperialism 17:39 Oil backs US seigniorage 19:31 Saudi Arabia and petrodollar 20:20 US pressure on Saudi Arabia 21:44 War on Iran 22:27 Why USA wants regime change 23:47 Outro

War on Iran is part of the US empire's larger attempt to re-impose its unipolar dominance on the global political and financial system, argues economist Michael Hudson. Washington wants to preserve dollar hegemony and the petrodollar, while disrupting BRICS and Eurasian integration with China and Russia. He is interviewed by host Ben Norton. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DEXReFGb24 Transcript here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/06/27/war-iran-us-unipolarity-michael-hudson/ Michael Hudson's article - War on Iran is fight for US unipolar control of world: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/06/22/michael-hudson-war-iran-us-unipolar-control Michael Hudson's website: https://michael-hudson.com Topics 0:00 Intro: US war on Iran 3:45 Summary of US imperial strategy 8:15 Interview starts 9:00 History of US meddling in Iran 11:06 US divide-and-conquer plan 14:02 Israel: US empire's aircraft carrier 17:07 Geopolitics of Iran 18:56 China's Belt and Road Initiative 21:02 Attempt to encircle Russia & China 23:34 US aggression backfires on dollar 27:29 Oil and petrodollar 36:43 Super Imperialism 40:06 Sanctions & economic warfare 44:35 Military-Industrial Complex 51:33 Outro || Geopolitical Economy Report || Please consider supporting us at https://GeopoliticalEconomy.com/Support Subscribe to our newsletter: https://GeopoliticalEconomy.Report Join us at Patreon: https://Patreon.com/GeopoliticalEconomy