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Oligharchy
This describes the present state of our society.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/deadly-rule-oligarchs/
Oligarchic rule, as Aristotle pointed out, is a deviant form of government. Oligarchs care nothing for competency, intelligence, honesty, rationality, self-sacrifice or the common good. They pervert, deform and dismantle systems of power to serve their immediate interests, squandering the future for short-term personal gain. “The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the common interest; but governments that rule with a view to the private interest, whether of the one, of the few or of the many, are perversions,” Aristotle wrote. The classicist Peter L.P. Simpson calls these perversions the “sophistry of oligarchs,” meaning that once oligarchs take power, rational, prudent and thoughtful responses to social, economic and political problems are ignored to feed insatiable greed. The late stage of every civilization is characterized by the sophistry of oligarchs, who ravage the decaying carcass of the state.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/deadly-rule-oligarchs/
Oligarchic rule, as Aristotle pointed out, is a deviant form of government. Oligarchs care nothing for competency, intelligence, honesty, rationality, self-sacrifice or the common good. They pervert, deform and dismantle systems of power to serve their immediate interests, squandering the future for short-term personal gain. “The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the common interest; but governments that rule with a view to the private interest, whether of the one, of the few or of the many, are perversions,” Aristotle wrote. The classicist Peter L.P. Simpson calls these perversions the “sophistry of oligarchs,” meaning that once oligarchs take power, rational, prudent and thoughtful responses to social, economic and political problems are ignored to feed insatiable greed. The late stage of every civilization is characterized by the sophistry of oligarchs, who ravage the decaying carcass of the state.
Replies
Maybe you shoud move to a different country.
I hear the grass is greener...
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Good luck Ed.
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Actually what Aristotle is saying is that Oligarchy is simply the complement to Aristocracy, which is enlightened despotism as opposed to the despotism of self-interest. Most governments are oligarchies simply because elites will always rule in one form or another. I'll stick with what I prefer: the diffuse nature of power all the way down to the local city council, outlined in Federalist X.
I respect that, Ed. Its a noble goal. The remedy though, outlined in our form of government, is not to exhort, beg, or cajole our leaders to govern with a view to the common good. Rather its to reduce the amount of power any one entity has. Government closest to the people governs best. Go to a city council meeting. State your case. They can actually do stuff for you.
I don’t know, Ed. A lot of good things have happened in my county (Weber County, UT) over the past 15 years, results of local governance and ballot referendums. For a instance, Ogden has a revitalized river corridor that has been a fantastic improvement to the city, funded by a voter-approved, small tax increase. There is a lot of work to be done to bring Ogden up to its potential but there have been improvements that are noteworthy and they are encouraging.
Had a good conversation with a city council member last month at a local coffee shop. I asked her, simply, “Why is most of Ogden such a dump?” We had a nice talk about some things.
Go up a level to the elected state officials and that is where the problems start. Bunch of goddamned crooks.
You want to fix the problem, Ed? Don’t change our whole society; just get the money out of politics.