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The Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) profoundly reshaped the global financial landscape and laid the groundwork for the rise of financial dynasties like the Rothschilds. The war’s immense cost forced governments to increasingly rely on private financiers to fund their military campaigns. Britain, for example, issued large amounts of war debt through the Bank of England and private banking houses, while other European powers struggled to sustain their finances with less-developed systems. This created an environment where international bankers and financiers who could efficiently move money, provide loans, and facilitate trade emerged as crucial players. The conflict also expanded global trade networks and emphasized the importance of financial innovation, areas the Rothschild family would later master.

During this period, Mayer Amschel Rothschild, though not yet a major figure, began building relationships with aristocrats and learning the intricacies of currency exchange and finance in Frankfurt, a city at the heart of war-related trade and commerce. The war’s destabilization of European economies created opportunities for ambitious financiers to profit from currency fluctuations, lending, and trade. 

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By observing how wars shifted the financial power from monarchies to private banking networks, Mayer Amschel Rothschild saw the potential of finance as a tool for influence. 

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These early lessons, coupled with his growing connections, allowed him to position his family for future success in an era where governments became increasingly dependent on international financiers, setting the stage for the Rothschild dynasty’s dominance in the Napoleonic era and beyond.

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1. The American Revolution: Breaking the Hegemony of Empires

The American Revolution (1775–1783) marked a decisive break from the twin hegemonies of land conquest and financial exploitation. By rebelling against British colonial mercantilism, the Revolution rejected a system where colonies existed solely to enrich distant monarchs and financiers. Instead, it declared that governance should prioritize the collective welfare of the people. The revolutionaries envisioned a republic founded on self-governance and the rule of law, challenging the entrenched aristocratic systems that prioritized imperial expansion and profit over the well-being of the populace. This reorientation away from serving empires and plutocrats was a radical shift that inspired subsequent global movements for independence and justice.

2. The French Revolution and the Death of Aristocratic Tyranny

The French Revolution (1789–1799) expanded the American challenge to hegemony by dismantling the entrenched aristocratic and financial elite that had long oppressed the French people. By abolishing feudal privileges, confiscating aristocratic and church lands, and establishing the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, the French Revolution struck a blow against systems that enriched a few at the expense of many. The revolution sought to make the state an instrument of public good rather than a mechanism for enriching monarchs and financiers. Figures like Leo Tolstoy, inspired by the revolution’s ideals, later argued that true justice requires systemic change, where governance and social systems prioritize human dignity over profit—a message that reverberated across revolutionary and nonviolent movements alike.

3. The Russian and Chinese Revolutions: Overthrowing Financial and Landed Hegemony

The Russian Revolution (1917) and the Chinese Revolution (1949) took the rejection of financial and territorial hegemony to even greater extremes. Both revolutions were direct assaults on systems where power was concentrated in the hands of imperial elites or capitalist classes that exploited labor and resources. In Russia, the overthrow of the czarist regime led to a communist state that sought to redistribute wealth and prioritize the collective over the elite. Similarly, the Chinese Revolution targeted feudal landlords and foreign imperialists, attempting to dismantle centuries of exploitation. While both revolutions ultimately fell into authoritarianism, their initial aims echoed the ideals of the earlier revolutions: that the politic—the collective interests of the people—must come before the interests of imperialists and plutocrats.

4. Nonviolent Revolutionaries: Gandhi, Tolstoy, and King

The ideals of challenging hegemony extended beyond violent revolutions, finding expression in the nonviolent philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, and Martin Luther King Jr. Gandhi, deeply influenced by Tolstoy’s writings, fought to dismantle British imperial control in India, rejecting both territorial conquest and economic exploitation. His vision was rooted in self-rule (Swaraj) and the belief that political systems must serve the moral and spiritual needs of the people, not the profit motives of colonial powers. Martin Luther King Jr., inspired by Gandhi’s methods, extended this philosophy to the American civil rights movement, rejecting racial and economic oppression. King argued that systems of financial inequality and exploitation perpetuated poverty and racism, insisting that true justice required prioritizing human dignity and collective welfare over the profits of the few.

5. The Legacy: Revolutions Against Empire and Capital

From the American and French revolutions to the Russian, Chinese, and nonviolent movements of Gandhi and King, the common thread is a rejection of the hegemony of land conquest and financial domination. Each revolution or movement sought to realign the priorities of nations toward serving the politic—the collective well-being of the people—rather than enriching imperialists, plutocrats, or entrenched elites. These revolutions laid the ideological foundation for modern struggles against systemic inequality, demonstrating that enduring change requires reorienting governance and economics to serve justice, equality, and the human spirit. As Tolstoy suggested, true progress arises not from conquest or wealth but from moral leadership and the empowerment of humanity as a whole.

6. The New Deal: A Revolution in Economic Justice

The New Deal, introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression (1929–1939), represented a revolutionary shift in governance by prioritizing the public good over unchecked financial power. The economic collapse revealed the dangers of a system dominated by plutocrats and speculative financiers, and Roosevelt’s reforms sought to reclaim the state as a servant of the people. Through policies like the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated commercial and investment banking, and the establishment of the FDIC and SEC, the New Deal curbed financial hegemony and restored public trust in the economy. Roosevelt also introduced sweeping social programs, including public works projects and Social Security, which redistributed wealth and uplifted the working class. This effort to protect the politic from exploitation by financial elites echoed the ideals of earlier revolutions, emphasizing that government exists to serve its citizens, not private wealth, and that economic systems must prioritize collective stability and human dignity over profit.

7. JFK’s Vision for Economic Justice and Its Tragic End

President John F. Kennedy sought to continue the trend of prioritizing public welfare over the interests of entrenched financial and corporate elites. His administration pushed for policies that expanded social programs, promoted civil rights, and aimed to curb economic inequality. Kennedy’s New Frontier agenda sought to revitalize the economy through public investment in education, healthcare, and infrastructure, while also addressing systemic racial and economic injustice. He proposed tax reforms that would stimulate growth for the middle class and reduce disparities in wealth. Kennedy’s focus on public service and social justice drew parallels to Roosevelt’s New Deal vision. However, his assassination in 1963 cut short these efforts, leaving many of his ambitions unrealized. The abrupt end to his presidency allowed for a resurgence of corporate influence and left many wondering how far his policies might have advanced the fight against financial hegemony and the prioritization of plutocratic interests.

8. The Internet and Personal Computers: A Revolution for Humanity

The advent of the internet and the personal computer in the late 20th century marked a revolutionary shift that democratized access to information, education, and economic opportunities, challenging traditional systems of control by governments and financial elites. By connecting billions of people globally, the internet allowed individuals to bypass gatekeepers of knowledge and power, fostering collaboration, innovation, and grassroots movements. Personal computers empowered individuals to create, communicate, and participate in the global economy in ways previously unimaginable, breaking the monopoly of centralized institutions over information and resources. From enabling global social justice campaigns to disrupting entrenched financial systems through decentralized technologies like cryptocurrency, the internet became a tool for leveling the playing field. While concerns about surveillance, misinformation, and corporate control persist, the internet and personal computers have undeniably equipped humanity with the means to challenge hegemony, amplify marginalized voices, and build a more interconnected and equitable world.

9. Cloud Feudalism and the New Struggle for Digital Freedom

Despite the liberating potential of the internet and personal computers, the rise of cloud feudalism threatens to reestablish the hegemony of financiers and plutocrats in the digital age. Cloud feudalism refers to the monopolization of the internet by a small group of powerful corporations and financial interests that control vast amounts of data, digital infrastructure, and cloud computing resources. These entities—through surveillance capitalism, proprietary platforms, and centralized control—create a digital landscape where users become serfs, dependent on corporate-controlled ecosystems for access, communication, and even livelihood. The critique outlined in The Coming Insurrection, which warns of the consolidation of power and the erosion of collective freedom, resonates deeply in this context. The book’s call for decentralized resistance and reclaiming autonomy mirrors the urgent need to challenge the digital oligarchs and reclaim the internet as a tool for humanity, rather than a means of financial conquest. The struggle against cloud feudalism is the latest iteration of the centuries-long fight to prioritize the politic over plutocratic interests, emphasizing that freedom and equity in the digital age must be actively defended.