Is the U.S. a plutocracy? - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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Is the U.S. a plutocracy?

Yes
34
77%
No
8
18%
Other
2
5%
By Mazhi
#1424067
Do you think the U.S. is a plutocracy?

Plutocracy refers to the rule or power through wealth or by the wealthy. In a plutocracy, the degree of economic inequality is high while the level of social mobility is low. This can apply to a multitude of government systems, as the key elements of plutocracy transcend and often occur concurrently with the features of those systems. The word plutocracy (Modern Greek: πλουτοκρατία - ploutokratia) itself is derived from the ancient Greek root ploutos, meaning wealth and kratein, meaning to rule or to govern.

The term plutocracy is generally used to describe two distinct concepts: a historical term and a modern political term. The former indicates the political control of the state by an oligarchy of the wealthy. Examples of such plutocracies include some city-states in Ancient Greece, the Italian merchant republics of Venice and Florence, and Genoa. Plutocracies typically emerge as one of the first governing systems within a territory after a period of anomie.[citation needed]

Kevin Phillips, author and political strategist to U.S. President Richard Nixon, argues that the United States is a plutocracy in which there has been "the fusion of money and government." [1]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutocracy
User avatar
By Praetor
#1424078
Plutocracy refers to the rule or power through wealth or by the wealthy.

If that is the definition you want to use, than yes it is. So is every country in the world.

There aren't many countries where bus drivers, mechanics, and dishwashers are also holding major political office or any other special influence.
By Mazhi
#1424090
So you don't feel bad about 5 % of the people ruling over the other 95 %?
User avatar
By Oxymoron
#1424098
So you don't feel bad about 5 % of the people ruling over the other 95 %


I dont have a problem with .000000000001% going to space, I dont have a problem with .0001 in profesional sports,society is based on specialties and their coordination, obviously some are better at ruling then others.
User avatar
By Nets
#1424107
I vote yes, and I've never seen a government that isn't. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but then again I have a Madison-ian distrust of the majority.

I do think social mobility is much higher than people think however, so it isn't a classical plutocracy. The "nouveaux riche" have quite a bit of power in this country (see Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, making the plutocracy comparison not quite applicable.

However, if the estate tax is abolished (as some propose) I can envision full fledged aristocracy emerging. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and most recently Barron Hilton have all set fine examples IMO.
User avatar
By Dr House
#1424124
Yep, the US is a plutocracy. I have no problem with people pursuing their own inequality in the free market, but it disturbs me how much legislative power money buys you in this country.
User avatar
By Praetor
#1424131
So you don't feel bad about 5 % of the people ruling over the other 95 %?

No.
By Manuel
#1424186
In theory no. In reality, yes.

So you don't feel bad about 5 % of the people ruling over the other 95 %?


There is no political system, no theory, which does not have some people ruling over others to a degree. Even anarchy, which gives everybody a voice, would only be headed by people who want a voice. Most people are apathetic. Most of the 95% you describe don't mind being ruled over. Most of them like it. They want nothing to do with politics.
By GlobalBushevik
#1424200
I think the USA is border fascist state...Corporatism... is the problem.... big money and corporate interest run this country.


What happen to truth in advertising? What happen to the middle class? What happen as a result of the Reagan revolution?

"TODAY" is what we get... the Reagan free trade Corporate Welfare State that we enjoy today.
By Manuel
#1424203
You have no idea what Corporatism is, if you think the US resembles it at all.
User avatar
By The Eternal Commie
#1424246
The US' system needs no special label; it's just a run-of-the-mill dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.

Can you taste the irony?
By GlobalBushevik
#1424249
You have no idea what Corporatism is, if you think the US resembles it at all.


WHY NOT EDUCATED ME.....YOU KNOW SO DAMN MUCH ABOUT WHAT I KNOW.
By GlobalBushevik
#1424252
What Republicans MUST believe...

It is very tough to be a Republican in 2007, because somehow, (through all the distortion) you have to believe concurrently that:

1. Jesus loves you, but shares your deep hatred of homosexuals, liberals, Muslims, Bill and Hillary Clinton.

2. The United States should get out of the United Nations, but our highest national priority is enforcing U. N. resolutions against Iraq. (No WMD’s)?

3. "Standing Tall for America" means firing your workers and in-search of stock options and cheap labor moving their jobs to India, China and South America.

4. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but the men running multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all humankind without regulation.

5. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're an Ambassadors son, conservative radio host, or connected to the Religious Right. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while sending soldiers into battle ill equipped, slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

7. Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins, unless you someday run for governor of Texas or California as a Republican.

8. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex. (The Twins wore the patch).

9. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, but then demand their cooperation and money.

10. HMOs and insurance companies make profits and have the interest of the public at heart… Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

11. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

12. It is okay that the Bush family's "Carlisle Group" has done Billions of dollars of business with the Bin Laden family.

13. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him and Rumsfeld reassured him he was our buddy, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, but then a bad guy again when Bush junior needed a prop for his re-election campaign as the "war president."

14. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying about WMD existence, to enlist support for an unprovoked, undeclared war and occupation, in which thousands of soldiers and civilians die, is, somehow, solid "defense" policy in a "War against Terrorism". The search for Chemical, Biological, and Nuccccccccccclear weapons ran its course {NONE FOUND}!

15. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which should include "banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet".

16. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's Harken Oil stock trade should be sealed in his Daddy's library, and is none of our business.

17. What Bill Clinton or John Kerry did in the 1960s was of vital national interest but what Bush did in the 60’s, 70’s & '80s is irrelevant.

18. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a "spirit of international harmony". MORE OUTSOURCING PLEASE!

19. Affirmative Action is wrong, but it is OK for your Daddy and his friends (here and in Saudi Arabia) to get you to graduate from Yale without studying much, to dodge the draft in the Texas Air National Guard, Donate $1 million to Harvard Business School to gain your son’s admittance, to bail out your company Harken Oil and the Texas Rangers, to get the Governorship of Texas and then to have the Supreme Court appoint you President of the USA.

20. You are a conservative, but it is OK to spend like there is no tomorrow and run up deficits that your grandchildren will have to pay, while at the same refunding as much tax money as possible to your campaign supporters. This illogical behavior can take a toll on a healthy mind. So if a friend of yours has been acting a bit dazed and confused lately, be nice: he or she may be a Republican!

BigD/ASU86
By Manuel
#1424276
It's not stupid, it's completely true, dude! America is, like, so totally fascist! Ron Paul revolution! Impeach Bush!

:lol:

That Republican thing made me chuckle, but its flawed. Most of those apply to any government in power, not just Bush.

Or did you think the Democrats were any better? Hell, Democrats have gotten America into the most costly wars in history, WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam...
User avatar
By The Eternal Commie
#1424290
And neither party is ever very much upset with the fact of war. The most any political party is ever upset by war is a. the way the war is conducted or b. that the other party got to claim credit for victory (assuming there is one).
By InterestedInPolitics
#1424397
Praetor wrote:If that is the definition you want to use, than yes it is. So is every country in the world.


That's not true, I have re-stated the definition of a plutocracy given by mazhi. Many of the European countries have a good social mobility rate, whereas the US does not. The social mobility of the US is poor in comparison to the other developed nations. This is why the US fits the definition of a plutocracy, rather than a democracy. The other European countries, in particular those in Western Europe, probably are more in line with the definition of a democracy, rather than a plutocracy, given, that the social mobility rates of those countries is much higher than that of the US. As well, economic inequality is not as wide and as serious in these countries. Thus, the US is plutocratic country rather than democratic. It is the rule of the wealthy few, rather than the people of the nation.


Plutocracy refers to the rule or power through wealth or by the wealthy. In a plutocracy, the degree of economic inequality is high while the level of social mobility is low. This can apply to a multitude of government systems, as the key elements of plutocracy transcend and often occur concurrently with the features of those systems. The word plutocracy (Modern Greek: πλουτοκρατία - ploutokratia) itself is derived from the ancient Greek root ploutos, meaning wealth and kratein, meaning to rule or to govern.

The term plutocracy is generally used to describe two distinct concepts: a historical term and a modern political term. The former indicates the political control of the state by an oligarchy of the wealthy. Examples of such plutocracies include some city-states in Ancient Greece, the Italian merchant republics of Venice and Florence, and Genoa. Plutocracies typically emerge as one of the first governing systems within a territory after a period of anomie.[citation needed]

Kevin Phillips, author and political strategist to U.S. President Richard Nixon, argues that the United States is a plutocracy in which there has been "the fusion of money and government."
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