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10/25/2007: "Liberal democracies become hopelessly corrupt"

Elected officials are sent to Washington to govern but not to rule. This may sound like a question of semantics or at best a fine distinction. But rulership isn't a legitimate part of democracy. When a governing class develops in a democratic society, it loses contact with the people who elect it. In many ways America is burdened with such a class, which has amassed power over the past fifty years, until it arrived at a place where its right to rule goes almost unchallenged.

Who belongs to the ruling class? One might start with the wealthy lawyers who form an inordinate percentage of senators and congressmen, then move on to the corporations whose lobbyists write the very laws that are supposed to regulate corporations. Working hand in hand, these two blocs form a privileged class that feels free to ignore what the American people actually want.

An unexpected benefit of the Bush years is that the ruling class may have gone too far. A culture of corruption binds Congress and lobbyists to an unheard of degree. Bill after bill, earmark after earmark, has blatantly served special interests. Both parties are guilty of kowtowing to money and the corporations that dispense it with shameless abandon -- the buying and selling of political favors has never been so outrageous. Influence peddling, once a crime, has become the norm.

[ When all you have to do is convince people that you mean to give them the world, but the world you give is imaginary, you can swindle the voter and take power as people from both parties have done. Surprised? They belong to the same elites. ]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/the-discreet-charm-of-the_b_69404.html