334

This is what happens when successive US governments fail to tackle inequality. While millions of people live in poverty, a handful grow unimaginably rich. Wealth begets wealth, and they acquire political power to match. It was inevitable that one of them – now the richest man on Earth – would launch what looks like a bid for world domination...

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] SeattleRain@lemmy.world -1 points 2 days ago

We never had a democracy. It was just white liberals pretending it was for 250 years.

[-] MyOpinion@lemm.ee 25 points 2 days ago

We have had and continue to have a democracy. It may not be the form of democracy you like but no need to pretend otherwise.

[-] Jumpingspiderman@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

And at least there's a statement about a more perfect union in the founding documents. The nation says it has a goal of making things better.

[-] BNE@lemmy.blahaj.zone -1 points 1 day ago

We have had and continue to have a democracy. It may not be the form of democracy you like but no need to pretend otherwise.

  • slave owners addressing their "uppity" plantation workers
[-] HK65@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 days ago

What makes a democracy a democracy?

[-] BreadstickNinja@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago

Free and fair elections, rule of law, stable governmental institutions, individual freedoms, and a free and independent press. Just to give a few academic measures.

[-] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Free and fair elections,

Manipulated by advertising, marketing and propaganda paid by the wealthiest contributors to influence the population. Creating an environment where money and wealth get to decide who gets elected.

rule of law,

That can be side stepped, controlled or manipulated by those with wealth and used as a weapon against those with little or no money

stable governmental institutions,

That are heavily lobbied, influenced and controlled by those with wealth or corporations and seldom represent the actual will of the people

individual freedoms,

Which are constantly challenged or questioned by those with power in an effort to control and manipulate everyone into conforming into inequalitable classes of people.

and a free and independent press.

My favorite on this list .... free and independent press which are all owned and controlled by the wealthiest billionaires or corporations who allow their media to speak freely as long as they don't affect their bottom line.

[-] BreadstickNinja@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

I strongly agree that all of these are under threat or direct attack in the U.S., if that's your point. But these are some of the measures by which academics evaluate whether governments are "democratic" nonetheless. The U.S. in particular was much stronger on these measures twenty years ago than it is today.

[-] SeattleRain@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Let's just start with not having slavery. And no calling it something else like prison sentences doesn't change that. Especially when you have States like Alabama practicing chattel slavery

[-] MyOpinion@lemm.ee 2 points 2 days ago

In the case of America we are a government by popular election and control in its composition through this vote.

[-] Tikiporch@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Whatever Wikipedia says if you go look it up.

[-] raker@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

"The appearance of legality must be maintained."

this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2024
334 points (97.2% liked)

politics

19159 readers
4476 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS