X-Message-Number: 23233
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2004 22:09:16 -0500
From: Francois <>
Subject: The common flaw in all government systems

Well, I have been following with interest and quite a lot of amusement the
discussion about libertarian vs capitalism vs socialism vs (insert your
favorite form of government here). My opinion in these matters is that all
political systems suffer from the same flaw, namely that they are
implemented by human beings. Because of this, they will all degenerate into
the following structure, which could be thought of as the Great Political
Attractor. In any given government, regardless of the political system it is
based upon, an elite who has figured out how to profit from that system and
who commandeers all effective power existing within that system will quickly
appear. The individuals within that elite will compete with each other for
as much power as they can get. The remaining majority of people will be left
completely outside this process of power brokerage. Depending on the elite's
attitude toward it, that powerless majority might find itself living in any
any type of society, from a perfect utopia to an absolute hell. All current
governments have either reached that stage or are in the process of reaching
it, and so have all past governments that I know of. In practical terms,
this means that a people's well being and degree of freedom are in no way
determined by what kind of government they live in but by the attitude,
goals, actions and degree of mental sanity of the few elite individuals who
actually wield the power.

Francois
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at
you, then they fight you, then you win."

Mahatma Gandhi

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=23233