Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy

[cal04]

A new study from Princeton spells bad news for American democracy—namely, that it no longer exists.

Asking "who really rules?" researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page argue that over the past few decades America's political system has slowly transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where wealthy elites wield most power.

(snip)
The researches note that this is not a new development caused by, say, recent Supreme Court decisions allowing more money in politics, such as Citizens United or this month's ruling on McCutcheon v. FEC. As the data stretching back to the 1980s suggests, this has been a long term trend, and is therefore harder for most people to perceive, let alone reverse.

"Ordinary citizens," they write, "might often be observed to 'win' (that is, to get their preferred policy outcomes) even if they had no independent effect whatsoever on policy making, if elites (with whom they often agree) actually prevail."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-us-no-longer-democracy

[oldhippie]

1. It never was.

Interesting that the article never defines "actual democracy" to any extent.

[randys1]

3. Was far more democratic before Nixon

Between Nixon and Raygun and W with some help from clinton, we are now a complete Oligarchy

[oldhippie]

5. A matter of degree .....

Actual Democracy only exists at the clan, tribe, and maybe village scale. Above that the numbers necessitate something else.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. The article might not define the terms

being used, but the report does. And no, they obviously are not referring to your "real democracy" objection down thread. You might try reading the report. Google Princeton oligarchy.

[malthaussen]

2. Why "oligarchy?"

Instead of "plutocracy" or "kleptocracy?" If indeed money controls all, one of the latter two would be more appropriate. Oligarchy is not defined by wealth.

-- Mal

[randys1]

4. OK, you guys can figure out what we are, we know what we are not

[Warren Stupidity]

8. Both.

Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence. The results provide substantial support for theories of Economic Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism, but not for theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy or Majoritarian Pluralism.

Either one works. It is a mixture of both an oligarchy and a plutocracy

[MohRokTah]

6. The US was NEVER a decomcracy.

It was always a Republic and Republics are inherently oligarchical.

Look to the Roman Republic to understand that.

[DefenseLawyer]

9. The key was to create "Reagan Democrats" and their ilk.

Spending generations convincing working people that their interests the same as those of the super-rich. Taxes=unfair, Government=bad, unions=corrupt, social programs=benefiting someone else and playing you for a sucker. Oh and trust us, some day you're going to be a millionaire like us. Take that successful effort and throw in religious and racial wedge issues and you end up here. Not with oligarchy forced upon us, but with the masses carrying it into town on their shoulders.

[bvar22]

10. Nailed It.

*Taxes=unfair,

*Government=bad,

*unions=corrupt,

*social programs=benefiting someone else and playing you for a sucker,

*some day you're going to be a millionaire like us


"They" have been very successful at marketing that insanity,
which shows that PT Barnum was wrong only in that he vastly underestimated the rate at which SUCKERS are born in America.

Oh...and do NOT tax the "Job Creators".