Lev Lafayette wrote:

On Mon, August 11, 2014 4:42 pm, Peter Ross wrote:

...

Here you have Rob Oakeshott who had some first-hand experience. He has a slightly different tack - it's not just stupidity..

http://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/topic/politics/2014/08/09/rob-oakeshott-h...

"The rules are simple: fight the bastards, bankroll the other side of politics, cause them damage until they learn to ignore treasury and finance advice and start listening instead to that grubby leveller in politics – money.

........... snip" ------------------------ I have to say, that is one the most pithy summaries of a major problem of contemporary democracies.

The corruption of power is surely a belief in enhanced entitlement for oneself and one's designates; democracy was invented (I believe), see for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_democracy#Democracy_under_Cleisthen... not to express popular opinion; but to curtail the corruption of kings and the influence of elites. As the joke goes: "Here we have relative democracy; which allows voting for my relatives " So if we require democracy in a real world; of 'oh so corruptible citizens'; then surely the problem is to make unentitled influence more difficult; rather than abandoning democracy or attempting reform of the citizens ? regards Rohan McLeod