Why the abuse of power needs exposing

A senior official in a UK Intelligence agency once remarked to me, 'There is no point in having power if you can't abuse it'. No doubt his cynical remark was intended as humour but unhappily it is the unspoken mantra of a large number of powerful, wealthy and influential individuals who have the capacity, and often the will, to inflict suffering and hardship upon vast numbers of people who lack any power to resist. It is not usually the intention of these oligarchs, of course, to harm others deliberately but such is invariably the by-product of a desire to increase or protect their wealth, power, or reputation, regardless of the effects on others.

With one exception, there is normally little or nothing the ordinary man, woman or child can do other than to endure the often dreadful consequences of the ambitions of others. In the case of the current economic crisis there are many millions of people who are powerless to avoid the approaching economic hardship, and its associated misery, which are the direct result of an unmitigated greed coupled with extraordinary incompetence and a significant degree of political and corporate corruption.

Perhaps the only remaining redress and consolation available to those about to lose their employment, pension or their house is to see this abuse of power exposed to the world for what it is. Naturally, it is entirely naive to imagine that financiers, bankers, politicians and sundry other eminence gris will amend their ways in the glare of publicity but some public disclosure of their identities and the discrepancies between public and private lives can deliver some well deserved approbation, contempt and, hopefully, embarrassment. It is the very least owed to the average citizen of virtually every country under the economic and political sway of the often grotesquely overpaid, and frequently incompetent, group of ruling oligarchs.

The media already plays a vital role in exposing the worst excesses of a few powerful individuals whose abuse of wealth, power and position has been of such monumental proportions that their money and influence have not protected them. 'Lord' Conrad Black and the commodities trader, Marc Rich, are cases in point. But there is a staggeringly large number of equally guilty 'Masters of the Universe' who, through skill, luck or political influence, have evaded detection and the level of accountability expected of ordinary people working in ordinary jobs. And the media, which are frequently owned by the wealthy offenders, as was the case with Black, often have legal, political, and economic considerations which can limit their effectiveness in this regard.

Hence this Blog. There are, fortunately, very many such blogs dedicated to uncovering awkward secrets which the wealthy and powerful would prefer to remain firmly 'under the carpet'. But in the face of the immense power wielded by the political and finanical oligarchs there cannot be too many. Each brings to its readers a unique degree of insight and comment and each is informed, to greater or lesser degree, by its own sources with access to information that is not usually in the public domain. This particular Blog draws on the knowledge and views of well-intentioned people who have, or have had, access to some of the people who will be placed under our eye of scrutiny.

Cyclops.