[geoschmo]

America is not an oligarchy. I won't pretend there aren't problems, but they aren't systemic. The people have the the right to representation and even personal involvment in the governmental systems to a degree not thinkable in any other country. We have class differences, but they are for the most part self imposed and enforced. And movement between classes is possible here like nowhere else in the world, or in all of history. The problem is though that the majority of the people choose not to exersize their rights. They don't get involved in their government, or at least get educated about the issues. And they don't hold their representatives responsible when they take actions contrary to their wishes and interests.

EDIT: So in effect our system may currently operate as an oligarchy, because of the semi-permanent beurocratic class we have developed that is suffering from a co-dependant relationship with the money provided by the rich, we could as a nation at any point wake up and start operating as a living, participatory democracy. We wouldn't need a revolution, or a "regime change" or anything radical like that. Simply for the people to start exercising the rights already provided to them by the systems in place.

Geoschmo

[ April 19, 2003, 04:54: Message edited by: geoschmo ]