[d26900]

Yes, powerful lobbying organizations not only had success with the food industry, but with things like Brexit too.

There's also an interesting finding[1]:

"Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence. The results provide substantial support for theories of Economic-Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism, but not for theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy or Majoritarian Pluralism."

[1] https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-poli...

[lm28469]

In the US the "elite" is literally drafting laws: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Legislative_Exchange_...

> The ALEC website states that its goal is to advance "the fundamental principles of free-market enterprise, limited government, and federalism"

It's right there in the open but I would guess most people never heard of it. A rich people private club to steer the country's legislation. I can't even imagine the level of corruption and self-serving interest

[reedjosh]

Wow, fantastic article.

[aaron695]

Good.

Do we really want QAnon (And on the other side, many of HN's crazy ideas) to be top of our politics?

Unfortunately that's 2014, forever ago in internet years, the tide is turning into the mess we have now.

[d26900]

That's an interesting proposition/sentiment. I haven't thought about that. As if "neo-monarchy" (the status quo) is necessary for us "dumb" humans.

But there are problems as well with that. Brexit is a good example. Rich people got their way by fooling the masses through targeted propaganda. And the masses got screwed (lost many rights) because of that.

But your sentiment is a little cynical/hyperbolic too for my tastes. Not everyone is a QAnon maniac. I think the majority of people are decent.

[MrMan]

But we are all easily manipulated, which is the danger. The link in your post supports this conclusion.

[d26900]

If we had "benevolent monarchs" (riches, people of power) who have always our best interest in mind, I would agree with you. But these "monarchs" aren't benevolent they simply do not care about us other than manipulating us as "dumb sheep".

And I still believe that the majority of people (us) are decent. Yes we can be like sheeple, but the best cure for that is education and/or political prevention mechanisms against our ills (lobbying, populism and gullibleness).

[hoka-one-one]

Yeah or Black Lives Matter! Whoops!