Blog Archives
American & British ‘democracies’: fit only for the 1%
Posted by admin
As concern rises over the latest London/Delhi revolving door revelations we turn to an article written by Edward Luce, Financial Times commentator and columnist based in Washington, which was given the headline: ‘America’s democracy is fit for the 1%’.
In the grossly unequal British and American economies, where 1% own a large proportion of the national wealth, the 99% should also worry about their 1% democracy.
The article opened with ‘uncomfortable truth’: “Both US parties are up for rent, and patriots of all stripes should be troubled” and goes on to fear that the US Supreme Court is likely to remove post-Watergate limits on campaign finance.
Luce gave examples – one reproduced below:
Old and New World corrupted
Luce points out that America – forged in opposition to the aristocratic corruption of Europe – has more entrenched inherited wealth than in almost every corner of the old world: “so too are legacy places at Ivy League universities that were once such wellsprings of US meritocracy”.
Both David Cameron and Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to address this form of corruption, but – apart from minimal regulatory changes in both countries – inequality continues to grow and the lobbying/PR industry flourishes.
In effect, is ‘one person, one vote’ being replaced by ‘one dollar, one vote’ in both countries?
–
Posted in Corporate political nexus, Democracy undermined, Government, Lobbying, Parliamentary failure, Party funding, Planning, Revolving door, Secret State, Vested interests
Tags: 1%, 99%, Barack Obama, David Cameron, Edward Luce, Entrenched inherited wealth, Financial Time, Ivy League universities, Post-Watergate limits, the US Supreme Court, US meritocracy