AMERICA IS NOT A DEMOCRACY: IT’S AN OLIGARCHY RULED BY THE WEALTHY
by Norman W Wilson, PhD
We Americans toot the idea of democracy the world over. History, however, tells us, that we are not a democracy. Fact is, we never have been. When this great country of ours was first established, it was done as a representative democracy.
At first glance, this may appear to be nit-picking. It is not. The Ancient Athenians formed a democracy, one in which all male citizens had to participate. There are two operative words here: male, citizens, and the verbal phrase ‘had to participate’. That is a far cry from what our Founding Fathers created. Modern definition renders the following meaning to the word democracy: Democracy is a system of governance in which all citizens have a voice in those affairs that affect their lives.
In addition to the representative form of democracy, there are ten other forms. These include parliamentary, liberal, constitutional, direct, participatory, socialist, sortition, consensus, supranational, and Iroquois.
Today, all citizens who are of legal age can vote locally and nationally for those who are running for public office. And under most conditions that would be a wondrous thing. It, unfortunately, is not. Citizens do not vote directly upon the issues that affect them. Even those who have been elected to represent them do not always vote the way the constituents want.
What then is an oligarchy? And do we live in one? An oligarchy is a governing form controlled by a few people. These people may be royalty, a committee, the military,or the wealthy.
An examination of those who currently sit in the hallowed halls of our Congress quickly suggests we live in an oligarchy ruled by the wealthy. The common citizen is not really represented. Our Congressional members have a base pay of $174,000 excluding the fringe benefits and perks. There are 535 members in Congress and nearly half of those are millionaires. (Center for Responsive Politics) Only one percent of Americans can say the same.
Certainly, then, we are an oligarchy ruled by the wealthy because only the wealthy can afford to run for a public office.
Once again, Dr. Wilson’s analysis makes one stop and consider what it really means to be an American within the multi-faceted global environment. He reduces a complicated subject by distilling its components in an seamless, effortless manner so that even a terribly non-politically perceptive citizen (like me!) can understand it. Thank you Dr. Wilson, for giving us, the readers, such invaluable commentary.
Thank you Patricia for the very nice compliment. It is appreciated.