http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10769041/The-US-is-an-oligarchy-study-concludes.html
The link above is to an article written by The Telegraph. It is about a study that was done in 2014 by Princeton and Northwestern Universities. The universities studied political trends in order to see what group generally had the most influence on the outcome of U.S. government policy. They concluded that the majority (normal citizens and mass-based interest groups) have the littlest amount of influence. The people with the most influence turned out to be the economic elites as well as organized groups representing big businesses interests. The governments policies barely ever align with the majority and tend to be more similar to the ideals of special interest groups and lobbyists. The study concluded that even if citizens want change or do not agree with interest groups, they still don't get what they desire.
This article reminded me of what we read from de Tocqueville. Although he was fairly pro American government and policy, he had a strong fear of tyranny of the majority. He thought it was all too possible in the U.S. due to the way our democracy is set up. He made a claim that if a person of a minority group had an injustice committed against them, they would have nowhere to turn to because every part of the judicial system is run by the majority. He believed that they could gain control to the point where tyranny would set in. However, this article claims the opposite. They say that the majority rarely holds the most power. In my opinion, de Tocqueville is a little over-the-top with his fear of tyranny of the majority. I believe it would be more likely that the a tyranny of the elites could appear. If you look at this article, do you think that he would still make the same claim? Or would he possibly say that the elites could be a tyranny of their own? What do you think?
I believe he would make the same claim. This is because of my belief in the theory that where there is money, political power follows. There are instances in which I believe that power can lead to corruption of the system to the point in which tyranny becomes a feasible option in the government. Because of this, I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you saying people follow money and so do politics. It isn't really surprising to me either. It's a lot easier to lead today if there is financial backing behind you. The majority is redefined today. It is still like a majority, just with money as the leader.
DeleteInteresting twist on de Tocqueville. Lets presume for a second that Tocqueville's observations about 1830 were correct and big-monied interests had little power due to a functional equality in New England. What do you think might have changed between now and then to give rise to the findings you point to?
ReplyDeleteI believe that between now and then, money has been given even greater power which has lead to these findings. Today money plays a big role in everything that we do. Politics, culture and everyday life is run my money. A lot of motivation for change in the U.S. is because of a monetary benefit would be the outcome. Nowadays, if you have money, you have the power for change. You can basically buy the majority. Therefore, Tocqueville is still correct about tyranny of the majority, however the definition of the "majority" has changed.
DeleteIn my opinion, I think that de Tocqueville would make the same claim. I agree with you when you explain how you think that a tyranny of elites could appear in this situation. I believe that elites feel as though they are entitled to more power than those considered to be below them. If they were to abuse this belief, they could easily be considered as acting tyrannically.
ReplyDeleteI agree that that de Tocqueville would make the same claim. Money plays an important role and it guides the direction of the political power. The financial backing plays an important role and let the politics to favor the interest of economic elites,and those elites are likely to be a tyranny of their own.
ReplyDeleteI agree that that de Tocqueville would make the same claim. Money plays an important role and it guides the direction of the political power. The financial backing plays an important role and let the politics to favor the interest of economic elites,and those elites are likely to be a tyranny of their own.
ReplyDeletei agree that he would make the same claim. What I have come to realize with American Politics is that the only thing that matters is where the money is going. If a special interest group in the minority has enough money flowing out of them they will be able to get their policies through the government.
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