General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Oligarchy [View all]Rebkeh
(2,450 posts)You both are right and wrong.
Officially, or formally if you prefer, the term oligarchy is a very extreme, and specific, thing. We are still a "representative democracy" on paper.
However...
There is no denying that the American government is not following the will of its people. Most of the individuals within it are looking out for themselves and there is extensive evidence and historical data to support this fact. If nothing else, there's clear indication of a pattern that goes as far back as the inception of the country. There's no parsing it - the oppression is real. It used to be oppression of specific sets of people in varying degrees, of isolated clusters of groups but that changed over time to become more widespread. Now, pretty much everyone is oppressed - some more than others - in one way or another.
Government can still be useful though, democracy is worth saving.
FWIW, I prefer using the term establishment but have no problem with the two used interchangeably. I am not splitting hairs over it - that's a distraction tactic.