The Philosophers

The Philosophers were a secret group of the most wealthy and powerful minds from the United States, Russia, and China formed after the first World War. In theory, these three groups were already driving political forces in their respective countries. This first group of members was named the Wisemen's Committee. Their assembly established a unseen union between the three nations that lasted for several decades.

By the time World War II began, the power and reach of the Philosophers had grown exponentially. They were now the unquestioned force behind each government. They ran independent political forces, had their own agents, and trained schools of operatives that would undermine seats of power throughout other governments.

To fight the war more efficiently, the individuals that composed the Committee pooled their resources, an estimated total of one hundred billion dollars - a fortune unmatched by any that preceded or followed it. This money was used to develop entirely new forms of warfare that would dominate global affairs for decades to come; rocketry, nuclear weapons and superhuman soldiers such as the Cobra Unit and the soldiers from the Perfect Soldier Project.

When the last members of the original Wisemen's Committee (one of the members was The Boss's father) died after World War II, the enormous wealth generated by their unions was broken apart and scattered to accounts and other hiding places throughout the three nations, the deposition known only by a select few. This wealth became known as the Philosophers' Legacy. When the original members died the whole organization lost control. All of the three nations were fighting for the wealth. One of the main reasons why the Cold War started was the rivalry and fight for the legacy, between the three nations.

Colonel Volgin's father was the group's financial manager, and was able to maintain complete control of it when its leadership died. Volgin thus inherited the Legacy, enabling him to build his fortress, Groznyj Grad, and many projects, including the Shagohod. His resources were practically unlimited.

With the death of the Wisemen's Committee and the loss of the Legacy, tensions rose between the nations and among the Philosophers, tearing the group and the world in three; America, Russia and China. Cause and effect were as one; the tension between the three feuding remnants of the Philosophers was the hidden face of the Cold War as each group attempted to concentrate power in their own nation.

After attaining the Philosophers' Legacy via Philosophers sleeper agent Ocelot as well as their destruction and later reorganization under Zero, the American Philosophers became known as the Patriots, and they continued their omnipotence over the American government and way of life, eventually gaining worldwide influence; Zero's misinterpretation of The Boss's wish for a united world led him to become as tyrannical as the organization he had overthrown.

Trivia

 * For unknown reasons, MGS2 states that the original founders had been dead since 1909 at the earliest, yet MGS3 implies that the Wisemen's Committee had actually died out during the Great Depression. This retcon is commented on in MGS4 with Solid Snake saying "The data we got from Arsenal Gear was a load of crap. Twelve founders who've all been dead for a hundred years... Give me a break."