The world's most powerful people propaganda
By Ivan Simic
Every year we have the opportunity to read Forbes "the World's Most Powerful People" list which is showing us who, by Forbes opinion, is the most powerful in the world. However, as years goes by this list is becoming more of a comic story then the reality. Somehow Forbes cannot accept the reality that there is no definition or criteria to determine the most powerful person in the world.
What Forbes does is they measure power of an individual along four dimensions: Whether the candidate has power over lots of people, assess the financial resources controlled by each person, determine if the candidate is powerful in multiple spheres, and make sure that the candidates actively used their power.
When Forbes uses the word "Powerful" what exactly does it means?
According to a definition there are many meanings of powerful, such as; having or capable of exerting power, having great power or force or potency or effect, displaying superhuman strength or power, among others. However, no definition gives an example of the most powerful person, especially with the prefix "most".
According to a definition of the word "World", there is no precise meaning of the word "World". World is the universe, the planet earth, the earth with its inhabitants, the human race, among others. In custom, world is a common name for the whole of the life on the planet, specifically human civilization, experience, history, or the human condition in general.
If we are to consider having most powerful person in the world, that person must be in the position to control and influence Biota (the superdomain that classifies all life) on the planet earth, as well as beyond the earth.
The only person that is capable of doing this is Superman, but he is a fictional character.
Forbes wrote; "There are nearly 7.1 billion people on the planet. These are the 71 that matter the most". Let us see some notorious ones who matters more than the rest of us:
1. US President Barack Obama holds the first place on Forbes list as the Most Powerful Person in the World. If we are to play Forbes game and say that there is the most powerful person in the world that surely would not be Barack Obama.
Forbes wrote; "Obama remains the unquestioned commander in chief of the world's greatest military, and head of its sole economic and cultural superpower.
Forbes forgot that the US federal debt is at a record high. The US national debt stands at $16,4 trillion. Under President Obama's first term, figure has gone up from $3tn, a rise of74.1%. China is the biggest owner of US Treasury bonds - over $1.14tn. Japan is the second biggest owner of US Treasury bonds - over $1.11tn. In addition, China has the world larges army, and US can never be cultural superpower. Why not? Well, US is a very young country, and because an apple pie is recognised as a cultural icon of the United States.
If Obama's power is measured through economy, army and influence then US President cannot be the most powerful. President Obama does not represent world's most powerful economy or army, nor is he influential like he was in 2008. The only reason why Obama won election is that people are scared when it comes to making changes, so they voted for him. Just take examples of other US Presidents, and other leaders in the world. In 99% they are winning the second term.
2. German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds second place. Forbes wrote; "Merkel is the backbone of the 27-member European Union and carries the fate of the Euro on her shoulders; she's shown her power through a hard-line austerity solution for the European debt crisis."
Unfortunately there is no room in this article to teach Forbes about the EU, as it is obvious that Forbes knows nothing about it. However, Forbes knows one thing, and that is how to make Drama out of something.
3. Russian President Vladimir Putin is at third place. Forbes wrote; "Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin scored points because he so frequently shows his strength - like when he jails protestors."
Is this all Forbes knows about Putin? Just to be clear; Vladimir Putin is the President of Russia, not KGB agent, judge or prison/corrections/detention officer. He does not jail people.
4. Forth place is reserved for Bill Gates, Co-Chairman of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Not really sure why he is on this list, but we should thank him for his generosity.
5. Pope Benedict XVI holds fifth place. Forbes wrote; "Pope Benedict XVI is the spiritual leader of more than a billion Catholics or about 1/6th of the world's population".
For Forbes perusal Pope Benedict XVI is the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and leader of the Catholic Church, not leader of Catholics. A global 2012 poll reports that 59% of the world's population is religious, 23% are not religious, and 13% are atheists. Pope should not be portrayed as person of power, rather as a man of peace, respect and understanding. To remind Forbes that there is a religion called Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world with 1.8billion believers.
