In fact, the US, with all its talk about democracy and liberty, is effectively a one-party state today.
Right on! There was a time when both U.S. political parties were rather independant, like back in Watergate days, and actually worked to improve the lives of ordinary Americans. Today, the Ds and Rs are different wings of the same bird. It is essentially a one-party state as you mention. We know this because if we look at the platforms of parties outside the two mainstream parties (like Greens, Libertarians, Reform, etc.) we can see just how different a vision they hold for America than the "business as usual" vision that we get from the Ds and Rs. Just look at what an excellent time the Clinton era was for corporate America, and how ordinary Americans saw their wages stagnate or decline. This during a time when the "party of the people" the anti-business, pro-populist party was in power. Sure the Rs are extreme in their pro-business policies, but business gets their way under Ds too. The United States is a full flung oligarchy now. The age of Democracy in America has long since past, especially on the Federal level. |
