If Durov can be snatched off of his private jet, all CEOs are at risk of arbitrary arrest when they travel.
It should be clear, even to the democracy loving sycophant CEOs, that the current situation is intolerable, and that something must be done.
There isn't a precise, universally agreed-upon number of CEOs worldwide, as this can vary based on how "CEO" is defined and the types of organizations considered (public companies, private companies, non-profits, etc.). However, some estimates can be made based on the number of businesses globally.
According to the World Bank and other sources, there are over 300 million companies globally. While not all of these companies will have a traditional CEO (especially very small businesses), it gives a rough idea of the scale. Many medium to large enterprises will have a CEO or equivalent position.
Therefore, it is reasonable to estimate that there are tens of millions of individuals holding the title of CEO or an equivalent leadership role across the world. The exact number would be difficult to pinpoint due to the wide variety of organizations and titles used in different regions and industries.
The arrest of Pavel Durov is a direct threat to every CEO on earth.
It is obvious that there are more CEOs than there are government ministers, and since these CEOs control all industries on earth, they have the actual power, not the State.
It is clear that a world-wide strike and withholding of services from all governments as a warning to stop the rise of totalitarianism is the minimum that should be launched in response to the arrest of Pavel Durov. Perhaps if this is done once, what I propose next may not be needed.
Governments can do nothing without the CEOs facilitating their measures. The ID Cards, websites and every other service the State provides are actually done by companies under contract, each with CEOs, not by governments themselves.
If all CEOs decide as one that enough is enough, it’s over for the totalitarians, because they can’t even make a phone call without a CEO facilitating it.
A new "Chief Executives Alliance for Global Equity and Stability" (CEASE) made up of the CEOs of the world should, as its first act, work to outlaw arbitrary arrest of any citizen, so that another Durov outrage cannot happen.
CEASE will have no legislative power, but that doesn’t matter; what matters is that they can withhold services to entire nations to ensure democratically elected leaders do not violate the rights of citizens, starting with CEOs.
Does this sound like WEF 2.0? Sadly, it does, but CEASE, working in the open to protect the rights of people would be quite different to the sinister and secretive WEF. Its aims are explicitly for freedom; freedom of speech, freedom to travel legally without fear of arbitrary arrest, and the freedom to trade with others in goods and services on the basis of voluntarism.
Julian Assange would not have suffered as he did had CEASE existed when he leaked the secret criminal shenanigans of the State.
CEASE, having no legislative power, has only one means of action at its disposal; withdrawal of services. This might not seem like much, but it is in fact an extremely powerful sanction.
Imagine if the CEOs of Facebook, X, Google and Apple all decided to go dark until Durov is released. Billions of people would be affected. No government on earth has ever had that much power.
Arresting a CEO for running their business where people can speak freely could never result in an arrest in a world where CEASE existed. The price to the State would be too high; and of course, in this case, it would be France that is shut down and crippled as the very fabric of their modern world is rug pulled from under them. They would rightly calculate that it’s just not worth it.
Arresting a CEO would only be done when it is actually justified like cases of; murder, theft, and other such crimes where there is a clear victim.
Obviously this is a sketch outline of a very big idea, and if the part of your brain that powers your imagination is working and exercised, it should make you go, “hmmmmmmm!”.
One thing is for sure; sitting by watching people be hauled off to the camps should not be tolerable for anyone, CEO or not.
And lest you believe that something like this would end up creating a “Rollerball” style dystopia, remember, the consumer is more powerful as a constituency than all the CEOs and their companies combined. Ask Harley Davidson, or the owners of Bud Light, Ratner’s, and others…
1. Lehman Brothers (financial crisis and public backlash)
2. Barings Bank (collapsed after a rogue trader scandal, followed by public loss of confidence)
3. Ratners Group (renamed to Signet Group after the CEO's derogatory comments about its products led to a massive boycott)
4. Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) (decline due to a combination of factors including boycotts after the Lockerbie bombing)
5. Arthur Andersen (collapsed after the Enron scandal, leading to a boycott and loss of clients)
One of the problems this idea faces that immediately comes to mind is the diversity of CEOs. Some of them are not liberty minded. This is where boycotts by the public may help exert some measure of balance.
Either way, Durov being arrested is unacceptable, intolerable and unjustifiable, and unless you want to have your own “oh how we burned in the camps”moment, you had better consider this idea very carefully.
