In the April issue we explore money as the harbinger of power. He who has the wealth makes the rules. Who has it? Who wants it? Why do a few people have so much money? And finally we ask: Why is freedom a constant struggle?
If you don’t believe Vladimir Putin is insane, then you probably have skin in the game of White Man Stakes. You don’t have to be a White Man to have a vested interest in White Man Stakes. There are both men and women, as well as a myriad of people among different races and ethnicities, who invest in insane leaders. How much power and wealth an insane leader has amassed is tethered together with how much financial capital and the number of important people who have invested in his power.
There is always a hierarchical power structure that has invested heavily, financially and opportunistically, to keep an insane leader in power. Vladimir Putin is no exception. Nick Licata’s timely article analyzes whether Russia is indeed ready for a change in regime: Could there be a regime change in Russia?
In David Graeber and David Wengrow’s groundbreaking work “The Dawn of Everything,” many questions about wealth, power and freedom are examined. How did we get here? This is the proposition most often asserted by the authors, and it is one we should pay close attention to. Our very future depends on it.
In Barbara Lloyd McMichael’s We Love Libraries column (Part I and Part II), her portrayal of the Breakers Library in Newport, Rhode Island give us a taste of wealth and opulence among the well read and influential during the gilded age. You are invited to tour The Breakers and its special collection that is surprisingly inclusive of books ranging from the pedestrian (25-cent potboiler paperbacks) to the savoir fare (Classics in French).
Any month is a fine time to read a good thriller. To honor this month’s money theme, we recommend Break the Bank, first in the series Even a Pandemic Can’t Stop Love & Murder by A.E.S O’Neill. Funny and irreverent, with an I-don’t-give-a-shit-attitude, Alby O’Brien is a working-class guy, who, through no fault of his own, has been on a losing streak for years. He’s soon embroiled in a bank theft, which isn’t earth shattering, but in this case the bank is owned by the mob. It’s great to have a working-class hero step into the spotlight during a time when we need more guys who can stand up for themselves in a world that is unfair and rigged against them.
E.G. Singer’s essay reminds us that the First Blossoms have arrived. Let us not forget that it’s April in America, a truly magical time. What was once dead, grey and lifeless is now trembling with the promise of new life. So while money is the harbinger of power, no one owns the miracle of nature and the beauty that surrounds us. The Spring belongs to all of us! -Patricia Vaccarino