Democracy: Stick a fork in it, it's done

[Bill Ryan]

[sdv]

Americans, are politicians (state, congress, senate) mostly driven by ideology or mostly driven by seeking power for self-enrichment?

In my country, the latter motive is like a cancer or more like a virus whose survival and success depends on spreading the corruption up and down the political class. Some of the corrupt are driven by ideology as well, but they eventually are completely consumed by the virus.

Personally I think the best way to clean up politics is to reduce the financial incentives. Did America ever have clear guidelines in the law about gifts and funding politicians can accept, and laws to prevent a clash between personal business interests and the interests of the American people? If not, why not? Although my country does, politicians are extremely gifted in finding ways to get around pesky rules that are supposed to ensure ethical conduct for the good of the people. China deals very harshly with political and government officials who are caught with their hands in the cookie jar, and with people in the private sector who flirt with or engage with corruption. The political purges that the Western media report about in China are sometimes about corruption, which has become commonplace in the West.

Personally, I find the Chinese system very attractive, but I think humans can come up with a better solution to corruption and politicians serving themselves rather than the people.

[shaberon]

Posted by sdv (here)
Did America ever have clear guidelines in the law about gifts and funding politicians can accept, and laws to prevent a clash between personal business interests and the interests of the American people?

It was originally called public service because it was not a high-paying job. It was a burden to be separated from your family, farm, or business. Meaning at the federal level. Going from here to DC in 1789 was a pain.

In those days, corporations were limited to a twenty-year charter, and were routinely investigated or even broken up for corruption. And they were almost solely for public infrastructure puposes.

Corporations and banking have totally changed, and there is income tax. And so it is like every time the question comes up, ruling goes in favor of those classes.

The American Revolution was started for exactly these purposes of Oligarchy as was done by the British system.

There was no fight to strictly change the form of government, we could have had a new monarchy with Washington as King that would almost have been the same thing, except for amendments to those policies we were prepared to shed blood for.

More specifically, the British charged two hundred Pounds to transfer a land deed. This meant nothing to a few large plantations who owned millions of acres and did massive commerce. Obviously it was crippling to the normal individual.

Ironically, modern China most closely resembles the system that enabled the early United States to develop.

In fact, they could probably teach us that.

This is why my only aspiration is that a much younger set of new political candidates are the only thing that can rein in the abuses of every kind that have arisen within a country that was supposed to have worked much differently. It's easy since most of the world has already shifted its view. Support of "monopolar dominance" like we would have found in the 1950s isn't there. And that's because we took another good opportunity and ruined it immediately.

[rgray222]

Posted by sdv (here)
Personally, I find the Chinese system very attractive, but I think humans can come up with a better solution to corruption and politicians serving themselves rather than the people.

I would argue that corruption levels in China are comparable or even worse than those in the United States. During the Biden years, cases involving less than $1.5 million were often deemed not worth investigating or prosecuting. Some members of Biden's team even viewed corruption as a transfer of wealth. When visible signs of crime are ignored by authorities, it contributes to what is known as the broken windows theory, which always causes corruption and crime to grow exponentially. Under Biden's progressive leadership, corruption has increased and is only now coming to the surface, particularly in states like Minnesota, Michigan, and California.

I think you will find over the years that the Chinese system is deeply flawed, and it is not a system that the world should consider adopting. It is not so much the system that needs to changes is man's thinking that must change.

China has faced significant issues with corruption across many sectors of society, including government, military, law enforcement, and healthcare. These problems are only somewhat documented, but they are well known to most of society. Despite the death penalty for corrupt officials, corruption remains a major problem. It has been my experience in China that financial gain is a primary motivator for most individuals. Greed persists across much of society, although it is not widely visible due to China's closed society and censorship. Anyone involved in business there is aware of the ongoing corruption issues. It is hard to say if China's war on corruption is having a positive impact.

I think you will find over the years that the Chinese system is deeply flawed and should not be adopted around the world. It is not so much that our economic system needs to be changed it is our thinking that needs a radical overhaul.