Sadly, it appears the American people have not learned this lesson. Some, it appears, do not even learn from four years of experience. I've been thinking about why that is the case and have come to the conclusion that nearly five decades of increasing capture of the political system by economic elites have made America's government impervious to the will of the people and that the demos have essentially given up on democracy. What is the point of the kind of performative democracy in the US where we have the rituals of democracy: voting, a congress, a president, etc., but not the substance? Year after year, the expressed interests of the people, as measured in polls, never see the light of day in legislation and policy. Moreover, year after year, more and more wealth is transferred from the poor and middle class to the rich. Let's call a spade a spade. At this point, the US is an oligarchy. Yesterday, three of the world's wealthiest people flanked Trump during his inauguration - this was an outward manifestation of something that had been hidden from plain sight in the past.
I agree with this, Angus. I further think that those elites should have their sites set on maintaining the democracy itself rather than maintaining their own wealth. And, one step further, I think too many elites today don't know how to do that because they do not understand political history--the one thing needed to understand democracy itself. Democracy is not intuitive. It is highly complex, and it fails when it's poorly constructed--and that comes from ignorance.
It's pretty clear when you look at Trump and Musk that they had psychologically damaging childhoods and saw money as the only means of achieving self-worth and protecting their fragile egos. I very much doubt a civics class in middle school would have improved their world outlook! Still, a quick read of the French Reign of Terror might convince them of the benefits of alternatives to oligarchy and monarchy....increasingly I think that is the only message that will get through. It is also why Teddy Roosevelt became a Trust Buster, as he knew the alternative was a Russian-style revolution.
Sadly, it appears the American people have not learned this lesson. Some, it appears, do not even learn from four years of experience. I've been thinking about why that is the case and have come to the conclusion that nearly five decades of increasing capture of the political system by economic elites have made America's government impervious to the will of the people and that the demos have essentially given up on democracy. What is the point of the kind of performative democracy in the US where we have the rituals of democracy: voting, a congress, a president, etc., but not the substance? Year after year, the expressed interests of the people, as measured in polls, never see the light of day in legislation and policy. Moreover, year after year, more and more wealth is transferred from the poor and middle class to the rich. Let's call a spade a spade. At this point, the US is an oligarchy. Yesterday, three of the world's wealthiest people flanked Trump during his inauguration - this was an outward manifestation of something that had been hidden from plain sight in the past.
I agree with this, Angus. I further think that those elites should have their sites set on maintaining the democracy itself rather than maintaining their own wealth. And, one step further, I think too many elites today don't know how to do that because they do not understand political history--the one thing needed to understand democracy itself. Democracy is not intuitive. It is highly complex, and it fails when it's poorly constructed--and that comes from ignorance.
It's pretty clear when you look at Trump and Musk that they had psychologically damaging childhoods and saw money as the only means of achieving self-worth and protecting their fragile egos. I very much doubt a civics class in middle school would have improved their world outlook! Still, a quick read of the French Reign of Terror might convince them of the benefits of alternatives to oligarchy and monarchy....increasingly I think that is the only message that will get through. It is also why Teddy Roosevelt became a Trust Buster, as he knew the alternative was a Russian-style revolution.