Last time we discussed the political spectrum, i.e. what forms of political organization were on the left, center, and right of that imaginary line. We concluded that the U.S., as officially a Constitutional Republic, was about in the middle of that spectrum. Most unbiased and honest political analysts and historians would more or less agree with that placement. But are we truly a “middle-of-the-road” country? Increasingly, I’m confused as to where the government of our country really fits, and I don’t think that I’m alone in my quandary.
I’ve always accepted the validity of the late Robert Welch’s insightful explanation of the political “spectrum”, where government forms that exercise TOTAL POWER over their citizens are on the left of the scale, while on the right of the scale is NO GOVERNMENT, or ANARCHY (which some confused thinkers claim IS a form of government). Constitutional Republics, such as the U.S. was designed to be, have a mixture of several forms, wisely codified with “checks and balances” that our Founders included to “constitutionally chain down” the radical impulses of men to grab all the power for themselves, as is the case in Oligarchies (such as Rome became when the Republic died), Socialist/Communist/Fascist/Nazi Dictatorships, (all forms of repressive socialism), and Absolute Monarchies, (such as Ancient Egypt under the Pharaohs, Ancient Persia under various Emperors, the unified land of England, from about the time of King Alfred the Great through The Plantagenet line of kings--prior to strong Parliaments asserting themselves--and to some extent, France under the Emperor Charlemagne and later under the Emperor Napoleon 1.)
Let’s discuss a few governmental forms in more detail before delving into the mystery of what kind of government the U.S. presently operates under. (The following definitions come from Merriam-Webster Dictionary):
- COMMUNISM
a)—a theory advocating the elimination of private property;
b)—a system in which goods are owned in common and are
available to all as needed;
c)—(If capitalized): a doctrine based on revolutionary Marxian
SOCIALISM and Marxism/Leninism;
d)—a totalitarian system of government.
According to Marx, once mankind becomes “perfected” through following his system, the government will “wither away” and all will live in harmony, the people willingly producing everything that is needed so that all people will have “all they need”, with no coercion. As far as history can determine, no “communist” state has “withered away” voluntarily, so we’re still waiting.
- OLIGARCHY:
a)—Government by the few;
b)—a government in which a small group exercises control,
especially for corrupt and selfish purposes; a group
exercising such control;
c)—an organization under oligarchic control.
Those “few” rulers of oligarchies often gain their power and maintain strict authority because of their great wealth or some other form of influence (being members of wealthy and powerful families, for example.) Oligarchs usually rule strictly for the benefit of themselves and their small group of “toadies”, with little regard for what it best for the citizenry. In actuality, the ostensible “oligarchical” leader may not be the true ruler; one of his group of sycophants may be the real or hidden power in the government.
An oligarchy is sometimes confused with an AUTOCRACY, which is rule by only one person who has all the power and decides everything. An “autocrat” is not constrained by any laws or any constitution. The citizenry have no power at all and there are no elections of any kind. In my opinion, a governmental “autocracy” can’t exist in reality, because even the harshest dictator can’t rule alone, without a bureaucracy of “toadies” or fellow sub-tyrants to administer his commands. Autocracies quickly change into Oligarchies. Autocrats may exist in the world of business, religion, entertainment, etc., where their will (and the power of their money) is “the law” and everyone obeys them. But a pure autocracy in government? Doubtful.
- DEMOCRACY:
a)---Rule by the majority;
b)---a minority of citizens can by tyrannized by the majority;
c)---pure democracies (such as in Ancient Greece) are characterized by mob rule, ever-expanding government bureaucracies, and endless demands for ‘entitlements’;
d)---minority may lose political or social rights if the ‘majority’ so decides and passes laws to that effect.
There are, of course, other arcane or more esoteric definitions of governments, but these are the most common forms generally recognized today. Now we must answer the question lurking in the minds of many Americans: What kind of government does the U.S. have today? On the surface we still seem to have the Constitutional Republic our Founders gave us. We still have all of the “forms” outlined in that venerable document, don’t we? Yes we do (even though their “limited” government is tremendously bloated, now). But let us reflect a moment: Remember what ‘oligarchies’ are—rule by a few or by a group. Oligarchies are characterized by ever expanding government, endless wars, a loss of liberties by the citizenry, a socialization of risks and losses (let the government plan it, do it, risk it, pay us for our loss, tell us what we can or cannot do, punish us for refusing to obey their commands, etc.). Oligarchies are also characterized as being controlled by, or at least semi-subservient to, the business “interests” of their nation, or as we would refer to it today as control by corporatism, and it can be fairly accurately claimed that this is the most common form of “government” today!
“Corporatism”, particularly MULTI-NATIONAL corporatism, is a powerful force in the world, generally, and in the U.S. specifically. Powerful corporations, particularly those controlling “information technology” have been “calling the shots” for decades (I remember the old saying—“What’s good for General Motors is good for the country”). Corporatism is protected zealously by its “loyal guards”: a National Chamber of Commerce, 50 state Chambers of Commerce (all of which exist ONLY to further the interests of those powerful corporations, including their desires for ‘open borders’ and virtually unlimited illegal immigration to drive down labor costs), and a horde of lobbyists pushing the interests of all of those Chambers of Commerce and their corporate masters in our corporatist controlled economy. Individual powerful and multi-national corporations are mostly controlled by an “oligarchical” management structure, where a few powerful people (original founders, large stockholders, entrenched CEO’s and Boards of Directors—many of whom are members of powerful and super-rich financial conglomerates and mega-wealthy families)—determine the direction not only of their companies but often entire industries, and in essence, the total U.S. economy. And this is done in the name of ‘free enterprise’, or ‘capitalism’!
Admittedly, my thoughts are only “conjectural” based on what is easily observed by all who are not willfully deceived and/or purposely ignorant. As Matthew Smedberg said recently on Quora: “…It is certainly the case that public power in the U.S. is frequently exerted not in the interests of the public (good), but instead for the benefit of those who already have power (such as economic elites).” Essentially, my contention is that the government of the U.S. is really a LEFT WING “government within the government”—an unconstitutional secret or surreptitious ‘shadow government’ controlled by big money and all of the power and loyalty that big money can buy, and has been buying for decades! That is NOT what our Founders envisioned for us! This is anti-American and un-constitutional, and is as dangerous to our liberties as is tyranny! Perhaps even more so!