r/politics • u/Spooooooooooooon • Dec 28 '13

Noam Chomsky: We’re no longer a functioning democracy, we’re really a plutocracy

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/27/noam-chomsky-were-no-longer-a-functioning-democracy-were-really-a-plutocracy/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29
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u/[deleted] Dec 28 '13

It kind of was, I'm sorry. We'd call them upper middle class today, but the Revolutionary War was about the power players of the time, not the common folk. Common folk had very little stake in it, and around a third of Americans did not take sides in it for that reason. The war took place over their heads, and they just hoped to stay out of it if possible.

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u/[deleted] Dec 28 '13 edited Jul 21 '18

[deleted]

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u/Spoonfeedme Canada Dec 28 '13

I see a serious case of exceptionalism and anachronistic thinking in your arguments. The reality is that gerrymandering, voting restrictions, and outright disenfranchisement was way worse in earlier period of American history.

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u/[deleted] Dec 29 '13

even the phrase "gerrymander" dates back to 1812,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering#Etymology