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The Government Of The United States Of America Is An Oligarchy.

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The Government of the United States of America is an oligarchy. Regardless of what children learn, from kindergarten to graduation, the belief instilled in people that they live under a democracy is an idealistic, and unrealistic view of current political affairs. Before delving into why the United States operates as a government dominated by the economic elite rather than a democracy though, agreeing on a definition for the latter is imperative. Following the classical teachings of Aristotle’s utopian view of democracy, in which each citizen has as much weight in the policy-making that governs as any other and still maintains the rights to live as a free individual, it is not controversial to suggest that America has never been a …show more content…

The ultimate ratification of The Constitution symbolized the victory of these ideas and perfectly showcases how it is dubious to claim the United States was ever a true democracy, as well as how the Federalists, America’s first political faction, set the government, whether democratic or not, on the path towards a rule by the economic elite. Even with the many of the nation’s first lawmakers advocating for oligarchical rule, the fact that the United States would ultimately become an oligarchy, whether they wanted or not, has proven inevitable, or so the iron law of oligarchy suggests. Proposed by Robert Michels, the iron law states that no matter how complex or well thought out a democratic government may be, no large organization can function properly as a democracy; it will always devolve into oligarchical rule by what he referred to as the “leadership class.” Famously stating in 1911 “Who

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