| > Is this really the view that foreigners have the how the states is run? Might be just people I interact with, but terms like plutocracy, kleptocracy, and theocracy all come up fairly regularly. As does police state, for that matter. Terms like republic or democracy seldom get mentioned -- not seriously anyway. (Not saying the grass is so much greener elsewhere, mind you.) > We actually rank among the least corrupt nations in the world depending on if you trust Transparency International or not. I don't trust them personally, but I'm in full agreement with that point nonetheless, having seen and experienced corruption first hand in developing countries. > I guess you could say it's legalized corruption through lobbying and political donations, which I agree with to some extent, but even than it wouldn't be bankers. Pharmaceuticals top that list with room to spare, where as "Securities and Investments" don't even make top 5. Unless, perhaps, you count TARP and under-the-counter bailouts that Bernanke handed over in recent years. But I'll happily concede if I ever see material clawbacks and jailtime for the related ill-gotten gains. > Lawyers are really the people who run America and anyone who has any sort of political ambitions will get a law degree, not become a banker. The same is largely true in any country [and time] where a significant bureaucracy is leveraged to run a large enough political unit. Which is to say just about every country nowadays, bar warzones such as Somalia. Also, that doesn't mean that these countries are run for lawyers. If anything, the cynic in me wants to compare them to valets who are content to cooperate with their masters in order to keep the small amount of privileges that they have over the masses. |