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Comment by usrusr | Hacker News Reader

Because the ruling gang has plenty of prosperity in their lives and "us vs the rest of the world" is the only way they know to keep the other 140+ million content with the few scraps they get. The more violent attitude they keep up against the rest of the world the less violent oppression they need at home to stay in power.

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>only way they know to keep the other 140+ million content with the few scraps they get.

The same wealth disparity exists in the west. Are you suggesting Russia is the governing model in our future?

The same wealth disparity does not exist in the west. Travel 100km out of Moscow and compare how people live to the same distance from Paris. Then go to the Russian Far East. It’s overtly that not been seen in the west since the 1950s and WWII reconstruction.

We are talking about two different things. You are talking about the nature of poverty. No doubt the most impoverished in Russia are much worse off than the impoverished in western countries.

I, however, am talking about the gap between the wealth of the top 1 percent and the rest of society. When you have billionaires, the gap between a billionaire and every non-billionaire is the same - merely because of the nature of the size of a billion. It is so large that comparing a billion to a million is essentially equivalent to comparing a billion to a penny.

> The same wealth disparity exists in the west.

This is not in line with reality.

> Are you suggesting Russia is the governing model in our future?

If Trump and his buddies have their way: yes.

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