The modern Western world is formally governed by institutions and laws. In reality, however, it is shaped by a closed elite of economic, political, and communication power. This is not an abstract category. It consists of identifiable individuals, organizations, and networks that act consciously and share common traits: unchecked greed for wealth, the concealment of corruption, oligarchic authoritarianism, plutocratic decay, distorted narcissism, and a nihilism that permeates the system from top to bottom.

The Epstein Case: A Mirror of Power and Silence

The case of Jeffrey Epstein reflects this world.

A man with no formal institutional role, yet with unlimited access to politicians, business leaders, oligarchs, royalty, diplomats, universities, and media organizations, operated for years within a system of knowledge and silence—one involving the trafficking of women, pedophilia, financial greed, control, domination, and impunity.

The fact that dozens—perhaps hundreds—of powerful individuals either participated or knew and remained silent shows that corruption is not a deviation, but an internal protection mechanism of the elite. Especially of the political and business elite that controls platforms, emerging technologies, national economies, and immense wealth.

How the New Elite Built Its Wealth

How, then, were the vast fortunes of the new American elite created?

To a large extent, the critical technologies that reshaped the modern world were born from decades of military research conducted by the U.S. Pentagon and NASA, with the participation of leading scientists from around the globe.

The internet—originating from DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)—GPS, wireless communication technologies that enabled mobile telephony, Wi-Fi, and satellite communications, digital security systems later integrated into banking and the web, computers, electronics, and integrated circuits—all are examples of public, state-funded research that was, in one way or another, privatized.

These innovations ultimately ended up in the hands of a few entrepreneurs—much as occurred in Russia during the 1990s with the rise of oligarchs. However, the wealth of American oligarchs and their global influence are of an entirely different magnitude.

Power Without Accountability

Aligned with U.S. political figures—from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump—as well as with similar state-dependent mechanisms in other Western countries, this network of technology oligarchs and political elites effectively co-shapes and directs the modern West.

The recognition of entanglement and corruption is often followed by its immediate suppression. When revelations concern powerful figures, they are reduced to technicalities, legal gray zones, or simply forgotten within days.

Major banks have repeatedly been involved in scandals costing societies billions, yet their role in the system is never seriously challenged. Fines are treated as operating costs, not punishment.

Oligarchic Authoritarianism and Democratic Illusion

Oligarchic authoritarianism emerges when economic power is converted into political imposition without democratic oversight.

Investment firms and funds influence governments, energy policies, and social priorities without accountability and without representing anyone beyond their capital. Democracy remains formally alive but is effectively limited to choices that do not touch real power.

Plutocratic decay is particularly evident in the elite’s relationship with war. Wars are not presented as tragedies but as investment opportunities. Many corporations prosper through conflicts labeled as necessary, defensive, or humanitarian. The media does not investigate these financial connections—it normalizes them.

Media, Narratives, and Manufactured Consent

Here lies the role of international media—and their acquisition.

Powerful media owners and oligarchs have shaped an environment where news is no longer information, but a tool. Wars, acquisitions, crises, and fears are presented through narratives that serve specific interests.

Consent is not manufactured through censorship, but through the selection of topics, tone, and silence.

Narcissism and the Culture of Impunity

The distorted narcissism of the Western elite is expressed in the belief that it stands above laws, societies, and moral limits.

Its public image blends philanthropy with cynicism—sometimes progressive rhetoric with deeply anti-democratic practices. It presents itself as a savior, while in reality acting as a ruthless manager of people and resources.

All of this forms a nihilistic systemic core. There is no ultimate purpose, no peaceful progress, no common good. There is only the preservation of power.

A system that believes in nothing beyond itself cannot reform—it can only decay. And this decay is not theoretical. It is visible, tangible, and deeply dangerous.

Trump as Symptom, Not Exception

The case of Donald Trump is not a historical anomaly. It is the product of the arrogance and elitism of the Democratic Party toward segments of American society—and toward common sense itself—alongside the push to impose a “woke” agenda.

Trump overturned that agenda, but in doing so he openly transferred into politics the logic of business narcissism, personal hubris, and the complete devaluation of institutions, laws, and truth.

Power was treated as property. Politics became a means of self-promotion and personal revenge. The public sphere turned into a ruleless battleground.

Displays of wealth, contempt for the press when it did not serve his narrative, systematic use of threats and intimidation, and the direct linkage of political power with business interests were not deviations—they were integral to his governance.

Trump does not simply distort the Western model. He exposes it—without pretense.

A Fragile Future for the West

The trajectory of today’s Western elite makes the future of the West deeply uncertain.

A system built on impunity, the disconnection of power from responsibility, and the systematic erosion of truth does not collapse suddenly. It deteriorates internally until it loses all moral legitimacy.

The West is threatened less by external adversaries than by the breakdown of its own social contract and the loss of trust among its societies toward institutions, media, and leadership.

It is drifting away from the cultural characteristics that once distinguished it from the East, with its leading country—the United States—acting more as a catalyst than a safeguard.

Unless balance is restored—through accountability, limits on power, and genuine responsibility—the Western model will become an empty shell of authority. Democracy will survive as a word, and decline as a norm.

We should remember: Cavafy’s “Alexandria” was not just a place. It was a civilization that believed—however imperfectly—that power must be accompanied by responsibility, reason, and limits.

Today, the West seems to be saying goodbye to that Alexandria—

if it has not already done so.

Michalis Sallas is Chairman of Lyktos Group, Honorary Chairman of Piraeus Bank, and a former university professor.