Who Holds the Power?
“…In all societies for which there was any kind of historical record, political power and wealth tended to go hand in hand; and a few people invariably accumulated more wealth and power than the others. The central problem of American politics was [is] to make political use of the aristocracy while still controlling its influence, to design governments and then use governments authority to assure that the energies of the elite flowed toward public ends. One way to assure that this did not happen, indeed one way to assure domination by a plutocracy [1] or oligarchy, was to pretend that aristocracy [2] had become extinct in America.” [3]
It is obvious that plutocratic influences thrive in the US today and potentially impact our society in a detrimental way.
The present state of our political parties, social media, technology, accumulation of wealth, and elections provides subsistence feeding the power of the ruling class. It may be creating “…a hell of a mess in every direction.” [4]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutocracy
[3] Passionate Sage The Character and Legacy of John Adams. Ellis, Joseph, J. W. W. Norton & Company, New York and London. 1993. Page 160 – 161.
[4] Paul Volcker, at 91, Sees ‘a Hell of a Mess in Every Direction’ – The New York Times