There is a short story by RL Stevenson, The Bottle Imp, about a cursed bottle whose owner can make wishes but they must sell the bottle for less than half of what they paid for it or they will be damned to hell. The new owner must also enter the contract fully aware of the curse and risk of purchasing the bottle/genie. The original price paid was quite high, but as time passes and the list of owners grows, our main character comes across it and buys it for only $50. While he eventually sells it, had the next person not felt their value from a genie was worth eternal damnation our character would have been screwed.

I mention the story as I think that’s where we are with US capitalism. Everyone knows it’s fucked and are just trying to get out with theirs before the heads fly because the rewards for screwing others are still so great and people can mostly remove themselves from it’s consequences. For the ruling class, this assassination was a good reminder the stakes of the game they’ve wagered and that the clock is ticking.

That said, even with so much information available, and despite the data it’s horrible for their personal outcomes, Americans are still deciding it’s what they want. Which, like the owner class, if they ever read any history would understand when you give away all your power and rights you’re going to be screwed by the kind of people who want to lead that sort of system.