The prognosis is not good. There is unquestionably a new aristocracy who are not subject to the same rules as ordinary citizens. Wealth and power is bound in sm

The prognosis is not good. There is unquestionably a new aristocracy who are not subject to the same rules as ordinary citizens. Wealth and power is bound in small groups who assist each other in keeping it. It's never been harder to transcend a humble (i.e. poor) start and join the ranks of wealth and power, so the lines between aristocracy and peasant are being solidified (although you wouldn't know it from the propaganda I hear, and in some places it really is just plain propaganda; I used to hear on US radio, just from out-of-nowhere, what were essentially sixty second propaganda pieces describing some guy who made a fortune in business). While it's still a voting republic, the monied use that money to teach the poor how to vote (predictably, in a way that means they get to keep their money and power).