Talk:Charles Koch

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Military service

Charles Koch is a major backer of “concerned veterans for America”. Does anyone know if he served in the military and if not why not , conscription was in force.

Business oligarch

Latest comment: 3 years ago6 comments4 people in discussion

The current lede describes Koch as a "business billionaire", but I believe it's better to use a more specific term when possible. In this case, Charles Koch meets the definition of an oligarch:

1. uses monopolistic tactics to dominate an industry;

2. possesses sufficient political power to promote their own interests;

3. controls multiple businesses, which intensively coordinate their activities.

The body of the article support the fact that Koch meets each 3 of these definitions. For the use of a word in the lede, it is not OR to apply a simple definition of a word, when the facts that the definition requires are well supported by citations. However, for those who would prefer to see the word in use:

1. https://www.cnbc.com/2012/09/05/five-oligarchs-whose-names-you-need-to-know.html

2. https://newrepublic.com/article/154636/oligarch-month-charles-koch-george-soros

I've created this page in case there's any disagreement about my edit. Feel free to revert if you disagree.

DenverCoder9 (talk) 05:50, 14 March 2023 (UTC)Reply

He feets the definition in every way. I also added him to the relevant category on oligarchs. Dimadick (talk) 09:21, 14 March 2023 (UTC)Reply

The MSNBC column is clearly marked "opinion", the American Prospect (where the "former reporter-researcher at The New Republic" was employed) seems to specialize in opinion and declares its "progressive prospective". I believe "oligarch" is a biased label, I disagree with its insertion, let's see whether others do. Peter Gulutzan (talk) 12:31, 14 March 2023 (UTC)Reply

Agreed it has a negative connotation, but disagree that warrants removal. The Koch brothers are known both to be (1) wealthy (~0.1% of all US wealth) and (2) to have a business interest in, and exert considerable influence on, politics in their home country. "oligarch" neatly summarizes this role. DenverCoder9 (talk) 23:50, 23 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

That's OR. Vast majority of sources avoid this phrasing. Best to just leave it as is. One's interpretation of the facts is not RS. Uhtregorn (talk) 01:27, 26 April 2023 (UTC)Reply

To apply the definition of a word based on facts in the article is not OR. Their wealth and influence on politics is well attested in the article. DenverCoder9 (talk) 04:18, 22 September 2023 (UTC)Reply

This page was redesigned at the edge.

Military service

Business oligarch