Comment by unity1001 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by unity1001 | Hacker News Reader

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Hard to understand why the parent comment was downvoted. This is precisely the interpretation of the US system in political science: A one party oligarchy with two factions that slightly differ in issues that are non-critical to the oligarchy's interests. They clash wildly on identity issues, but when it comes to feeding the military-industry complex, the stock market and keeping their own taxes low, they are always 'bipartisan'. A recent Princeton study confirmed this:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-...

Actually, the above study is just a confirmation of what was known a long time ago as outlined in one of the most famous and biggest study of the US system and social dynamics:

https://whorulesamerica.ucsc.edu/power/class_domination.html

This famous UCSC study found out that ~30,000 people (including women, children) constitute the American elite class and they are extremely class conscious and exclusive. They hold balls to introduce their children into their own society for coming of age, they intermarry within themselves, they monopolize all positions of power among themselves. The study found out that they monopolize everywhere from governors' seats to senate to corporate boards among themselves.

Yes the two Parties can agree on a few things, that does not imply "one Party oligarchy". In fact much of the dysfunction in government can be traced to the wildly different positions of the two parties.

However if we want to talk Oligarchy we can view the US as being dominated culturally by Liberal (classical sense) values. Open Society, all that stuff. This manifests in politics.

Those two parties agree on most things that actually matter.

They are both right wing capitalist parties.

Sure - one of them might talk about LGBT rights or whatever. But when a LGBT person gets in an accident - they will still receive a crippling medical bill. Unlike in "homophobic" countries like Poland, South Korea or Japan.

The bill will however have a colorful rainbow logo during pride month. What else could a gay person ask for.

> Yes the two Parties can agree on a few things, that does not imply "one Party oligarchy"

Those 'few things' define the oligarchy. As the Princeton study found out.

> Open Society, all that stuff.

That's a false perception. There's nothing open about the existing American oligarchy. The famous UCSC study referenced in the grandparent comment found out that ~30,000 people (including women, children) constitute the American elite class and they are extremely class conscious and exclusive. They hold balls to introduce their children into their own society for coming of age, they intermarry within themselves, they monopolize all positions of power among themselves. The study found out that they monopolize everywhere from governors' seats to senate to corporate boards.

Even the people who are more or less familiar with this think that because there are some 'exceptions' to this in the tech sector due to the existence of startups and also a few upwardly mobile upper middle class personas occasionally marry into that oligarchy, there isn't an oligarchy and the society is 'open' and upwardly mobile. But exceptions don't make a rule. Even the anomaly that is the tech sector is a rule-taker in American economy and politics, not a rule maker. The rules are still made by mostly East Coast 'old money' families and the elite networks that their social groups constitute. Here are the critical findings of the study again:

https://whorulesamerica.ucsc.edu/power/class_domination.html

Likely because it's absurd to state that politics in America are "beholden to white supremacist conservative Christians."

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