Goodbye Democracy - Hello Oligarchy!

For those who don’t have perfect recollection of high school or college U.S. History class, let’s review the difference between a democracy and an oligarchy. In simple terms, a democratic form of government institutes societal rules that reflect the will of the majority of the populace. On the other hand, an oligarchy reflects the wishes of the rich and powerful.

Where can we find oligarchies in today’s world?

* China? Yep.

* Russia? Yessir.

* Twentieth century South Africa? Absolutely.

* The United States?

Not everyone would immediately recognize America as the very definition of oligarchy, but a new study from Princeton and Northwestern universities has concluded that the United States no longer represents the interests of the majority of our nation’s citizens.

While some modern political writers opine that democratic and oligarchic tendencies can co-exist in a single system, others, like Bernie Sanders in a 2010 article in The Nation stated that an “upper crust of extremely wealthy families are hell-bent on destroying the democratic vision of a strong middle class which has made the United States the envy of the world. In its place they are determined to create an oligarchy in which a small number of families control the economic and political life of our country.”

It’s interesting to note that recent high profile US political and finance positions have been dominated by people associated with Harvard and Yale. All nine current Supreme Court justices attended either Harvard or Yale law schools. Ronald Reagan was the last president not associated with one of those schools.

The study, after sifting through almost 1,800 US policies enacted between the years of 1981 to 2002, concluded that the majority of the American public has a “miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.”

Whew! Those are pretty strong words for anyone still retaining delusions that equality reigns here in the good old land of the free and the home of the brave. In the words of the study: “"The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence."

The problem with a transition from democracy to oligarchy is that it is often a move towards authoritarianism, which, unless you happen to reside in the elite class, hardly ever seems like a good idea. (Image: Flickr | Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library)

The JasonHartman.com Team
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