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In China the power to “reform” an issue is in the hands of a very few political elites. In the US it’s in the hands of a very few wealthy elites. It’s true that
by DmenshunlAnlsis 8y ago
In China the power to “reform” an issue is in the hands of a very few political elites. In the US it’s in the hands of a very few wealthy elites. It’s true that you can hope to have some influence through lobbying in a way that would be unthinkable in China, but it requires connections and vast sums of money.
If you try to challenge power structures in China directly they roll over you with tanks. The last time people em masse did the same in the US they were beaten, lynched, killed, jailed, firehosed and attacked with dogs.
- sametmax 8y agoWell, yes and no. It's true that the US is more an oligarchy that a democracy, but the people have the possibility to vote with their wallet. The US literally takes the direction its people choose to consume, because the corporation have so much power, and they are only interested in things they can sell.
- DmenshunlAnlsis 8y agoIn theory, but the wallets of a few hundred families are deeper than everyone else’s combined. All it takes then, to make “vote with your wallet meaningless” is to introduce one or two major divisions in society and the elites can rest easy knowing they control lobbying as well. It would take a society-wide alliance to fight the influence of the Koch brothers, George Soros (and of course about half of the population only wants to fight one of them and not the other). When you factor in the money and power of corporations like Goldman Sachs and Exxon... well... don’t bother.