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Showing Original Post only (View all)From BBC: "Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy" [View all]
2 U.S. professors (Princeton/Northwestern) have conducted exhaustive research/multivariate analysis of 21 years of data to support this conclusion. I think they'll get the Nobel prize for their work. Here's how they explain it:
Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence. In English: the wealthy few move policy, while the average American has little power.
The two professors came to this conclusion after reviewing answers to 1,779 survey questions asked between 1981 and 2002 on public policy issues. They broke the responses down by income level, and then determined how often certain income levels and organised interest groups saw their policy preferences enacted. "A proposed policy change with low support among economically elite Americans (one-out-of-five in favour) is adopted only about 18% of the time," they write, "while a proposed change with high support (four-out-of-five in favour) is adopted about 45% of the time."
On the other hand: When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organised interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the US political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favor policy change, they generally do not get it.
They conclude: Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association and a widespread (if still contested) franchise. But we believe that if policymaking is dominated by powerful business organisations and a small number of affluent Americans, then America's claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened.
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746
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Just someone who thinks America and Americans are not as bad as you make us out to be.
Nitram
Apr 2016
#78
And the Clinton fans see everything their authoritarian leaders do as wonderful. Living in a
rhett o rick
Apr 2016
#101
She is partially responsible when she pushes for these hawkish policies...
Bohemianwriter
Apr 2016
#136
Exposing one's ignorance while expressing outrage is not confined to the the right wing.
OnyxCollie
Apr 2016
#74
exactly. people with blinders flocking to BS media that only tells them what they want to hear
uhnope
Apr 2016
#130
Listening on FSTV to a Chris Hedges interview from Democracy Spring right now.
Dont call me Shirley
Apr 2016
#96
"Our current situation is Economic Elite Domination (or, you know, plutocracy). "
Divernan
Apr 2016
#4
Agree 100%. I am disgusted and disillusioned about our election process. n/t
Paper Roses
Apr 2016
#76
I used to love to listen to him speak. I have several still, just copied a couple to my phone
cui bono
Apr 2016
#84
I was pointing out the self-evidence of their findings, not questioning its relevance n/t
IDemo
Apr 2016
#9
I think the robber barons of the late 1800's probably controlled government as much or more
Akicita
Apr 2016
#104
Yes, it seems that US democracy is more about faith then about rule by the people
fasttense
Apr 2016
#17
"The US ... is basically similar to Russia or most other dubious 'electoral' 'democratic'
pampango
Apr 2016
#23
Interesting that no one seemed to have noticed that the report says the US is...
Nitram
Apr 2016
#26
yep. The ballot is still the currency of power in the USA, so it's not an oligarchy (yet)
uhnope
Apr 2016
#90
Distinction without a difference. Do you have an opinion re the OP? Or are you just here
rhett o rick
Apr 2016
#99
Facts? That's funny. Clinton supporters some how believe that if we give the banksters
rhett o rick
Apr 2016
#137
If we were a democracy gay marriage would still be illegal in California and many other states.
Akicita
Apr 2016
#105
"A constitution is simply a foundational body of law". No, the Constitution IS the law. Every
Akicita
Apr 2016
#107
yeah I can't believe those little emoticon thingies are used by anyone over age 13
uhnope
Apr 2016
#131
Then let me posit this: our representative government SHOULD but does not presently work.
PatrickforO
Apr 2016
#58
And what will we do about it? Bernie is our chance in a lifetime to return reject the oligarchy.
NCjack
Apr 2016
#34
Mark Twain said, "If voting made any difference, they wouldn't let us do it." Maybe you should have
PatrickforO
Apr 2016
#41
Well, WE all know this. Too bad it won't be picked up by the corporate owned
PatrickforO
Apr 2016
#40
No, it was from Princeton, and widely covered in the USA in the couple of years
muriel_volestrangler
Apr 2016
#113
BS from a blog. The ballot is still the currency of power in the USA, so it's not an oligarchy (yet)
uhnope
Apr 2016
#91
It did not become an oligarchy by accident. We can trace back to a number of bad decisions made
Enthusiast
Apr 2016
#106
It's interesting to follow the recs it's got over the couple of years since publication
muriel_volestrangler
Apr 2016
#112
It's true. A handful of people wield power disproportionately using money/media/etc. as a tool.
PoliticalMalcontent
Apr 2016
#123
too bad this wasn't the BBC but just a blog rehashing the same old cherrypicked BS
uhnope
Apr 2016
#132