for anyone who's already used up their one free monthly article at Foreign Affairs
http://carnegieendowment.org/2017/08/15/kleptocracy-in-america-pub-72836
... corruption is not so much a problem for governments as it is an approach to government, one chosen by far too many rulers today. ... the rather pressing reality of developed countries—including the United States—beginning their own unmistakable slides toward kleptocracy. ...
The United States has become a testing ground for that question. The country’s slide into a kind of genteel kleptocracy began many years ago, arguably in the 1980s, when deregulation fever hit. The lobbying profession exploded, and industries began writing legislation affecting their sectors; public services such as incarceration and war fighting were privatized; the brakes on money in politics were released; and presidents began filling top regulatory positions with bankers. An economy of transactional exchanges took hold in Washington.
Last year was a watershed in this process. In June, the Supreme Court dramatically narrowed the legal definition of bribery when it overturned the corruption conviction of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. ...
Although Trump’s supporters may think otherwise, his victory and ascent to the White House did not represent regime change; they represented very much more of the same, with a president who has invited top corporate executives not merely to provide advice or draft legislation but also to actually join his team. Such a presidency will only cement the system rigging Trump once decried.
For Americans, ... the expulsion of one individual at the top will not be enough to repair the damaged republic. Americans should not fool themselves into thinking that all they must do is see Trump impeached or get out the vote for a standard Democratic or Republican alternative in 2020. The network that Trump is anchoring in Washington is exploiting a system that Americans have all allowed to evolve and from which they have averted their eyes. That network is empowered now and will prove resilient.
We're going to need good people in all branches of government to root this out. As she said, only electing a Democrat to the presidency won't do it. Again, our grandparents' generations did it, but the coalition that made it happen included Democrats and moderate Republicans working together. (Extremists on both sides capitalized on the troubles of the times to advocate revolution but were more part of the troubles than part of the solution.)
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