So it might seem, but there are so many examples where that lust for influence and power have gone bust and ended in ruin so I like to think there is a supernatural law at work somewhere in the affairs of mankind.
On Sep 27, 4:29 am, Frank <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > No doubt many honest people have done well. However, this is > irrelevant as those that are less benevolent that have made their > fortunes by less ethical practices (thats the only way you can make > huge fortunes) are those that use their wealth to influence and > control the government. This can never be changed, never. > > > > Frank wrote: > > Plutocracy > > Forms of government > > > Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. In a > > plutocracy, the degree of economic inequality is high while the level > > of social mobility is low. This can apply to a multitude of government > > systems, as the key elements of plutocracy transcend and often occur > > concurrently with the features of those systems. The word plutocracy > > (Modern Greek: πλουτοκρατία - ploutokratia) is derived from the > > ancient Greek root ploutos, meaning wealth and kratein, meaning to > > rule or to govern. > > Usage > > > The term plutocracy is generally used to describe two distinct > > concepts: one of a historical nature and one of a modern political > > nature. The former indicates the political control of the state by an > > oligarchy of the wealthy. Examples of such plutocracies include some > > city-states in Ancient Greece, the civilization of Carthage, the > > Italian merchant republics of Venice and Florence, and Genoa. > > > Kevin Phillips, author and political strategist to U.S. President > > Richard Nixon, argues that the United States is a plutocracy in which > > there is a "fusion of money and government." [1]. > > Modern political > > > The second usage of plutocracy is a pejorative reference to a > > disproportionate influence the wealthy are said to have on political > > process in contemporary society. Positive influence includes campaign > > contributions and bribes; negative influence includes refusing to > > support the government financially by refusing to pay taxes, > > threatening to move profitable industries elsewhere, and so on. It can > > also be exerted by the owners and ad buyers of media properties which > > can shape public perception of political issues. Recent examples > > include Rupert Murdoch's News Corp's alleged political agendas in > > Australia, the UK [2] and the United States or the oil industry > > oligarchy, and billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, which may back right- > > leaning political action committees (PACs), as well as billionaire > > George Soros' efforts to influence US politics by backing left-leaning > > PACs. > > Recently, there have been numerous cases of wealthy individuals and > > organizations exerting financial pressure on governments to pass > > favorable legislation. (see: Lobbying) Most western democracies permit > > partisan organizations to raise funds for politicians, and it is well- > > known that political parties frequently accept significant donations > > from various individuals (either directly or through corporate > > institutions). Ostensibly this should have no effect on the > > legislative decisions of elected representatives; however it would be > > unlikely that no politicians are influenced by these contributions. > > Some describe these donations as bribes, although legally they are > > not. In the United States, campaign finance reform efforts seek to > > ameliorate this situation. However, campaign finance reform must > > successfully challenge officials who are beneficiaries of the system > > which allows this dynamic in the first place. This has led many reform > > advocates to suggest taxpayer dollars be used to replace private > > campaign contributions, these reforms are often called clean money, > > clean elections reform as opposed to simply campaign finance reform > > which does not address the conflict of interest involved where most or > > all of the campaign money is from private, often for-profit sources. > > Critics of so-called clean elections point out that that having the > > government decide which candidates would receive tax dollars and > > therefore be allowed to run would create an effective dictatorship > > where the government decides who the people can vote for. > > > Forms of control > > > A Plutocracy is a government controlled by a minuscule proportion of > > extremely wealthy individuals found in most societies. In many forms > > of government, those in power benefit financially, sometimes enough to > > belong to the aforementioned wealthy class. > > > Classically, a plutocracy was an oligarchy, which is to say a > > government controlled by the wealthy few. Usually this meant that > > these ‘plutocrats’ controlled the executive, legislative and judicial > > aspects of government, the armed forces, and most of the natural > > resources. To a certain degree, there are still some situations in > > which private corporations and wealthy individuals may exert such > > strong influence on governments, that the effect can arguably be > > compared to a plutocracy. > > If there are no forms of control within the society, the plutocracy > > can easily collapse into a kleptocracy, "reign of thieves", where the > > powerholders attempt to confiscate as much public funds as possible as > > their private property. A kleptocratic state is usually thoroughly > > corrupt, has very little production and its economy is unstable. Many > > failed states represent kleptocracies. > > > THE AMERICAN PLUTOCRACY > >http://www.progressiveliving.org/plutocracy_defined.htm > > The specific American politicians who support plutocratic governance > > are identified here > > To e-mail this page to a friend, click here > > To search the Progressive Living site for more concerning plutocracy, > > click here > > Read about the plutocratic agenda > > Read about Progressivism, the antidote to Plutocracy Go to the > > Progressive Living political Field Guide. > > Go to the Progressive Living economics Field Guide > > Go to the Progressive Living preamble > > Go to the Progressive Living site map > > Go to the Progressive Living welcome page > > See the resource on the Bush cabinet, with links that illustrate its > > plutocratic nature- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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