Scipio, in Cicero’s Tusculian disputations, defines the people as
a community bound together by the sense of common rights and mutual benefits.
Are members of the political class bound with the other citizens in mutual benefits and common rights or do they occupy different spheres and as such when we talk about the people, we really have different groups in mind?
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The political class has elevated themselves above the rest of the people and they give themselves extra perks and higher wages than they allow the people. Politicians do not deserve this elevation they give themselves, but they fight any attempt to make things better for the people. Hugs
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What he said! Spot on.
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You can say that again
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what can be done to stem such a rise?
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I would have said open honest elections, but here in the US when a democrat wins an office the republicans simply change the rules so those people the voters shose have no paower to do anything, including appoint their own staff. The republicans in the US have shown by these acts they do not c are what the people think, want , or who they vote for. The republicans want power and they are going to get it, and keep it, at all costs. Best of luck to you. Hugs
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Great gravy. That reads like I typed it while drunk. I hope the coffee kicks in soon. Hugs
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No worries. Most people reading will most likely be drunk too
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I am not drunk! …yet 🙂
Politicians are regular people, right up until they become politicians. After that they sort of become part of the ruling class IMO. Once elected their dedication to the regular folk dwindles quickly (if it was ever real in the first place) as their political interests are soon bought up by corporate lobbyists and/or party alliances.
The people? What people? Oh…those people! The ones I have to appease and blow smoke up their asses to get reelected every so often.
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What is it about politics that leads to this transformation?
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Money, power, and I believe there is a culture that breeds lying asshole-ism.
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It seems elections everywhere are becoming a sham.
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Yes, and what will we have left when they are no longer even pretend to matter? How do the people in this day and age with everything the state or the Oligarchs can bring against the people, how do we gain back what we will have lost? Hugs
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Not easy to gain what has been lost
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The “extra perks and higher wages” of the political class are miniscule, even trivial, compared to the wealth extracted by the ownership class. The political class are but servants of people like the Waltons, Saudi Princes, Jeff Bezos, and the Kochs. The Owners are eager for us to blame the political class, to focus on them and not the true gluttons. Obama has a mansion now. How many mansions do the Saudi princes have?
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The owners, especially those who own the political class, use them to achieve their own ends the rest of us be damned
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They even exempt the club from certain laws they enforce. Sort of like preachers, really. In the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, CEOs of public companies now face fines up to $5 million and 20 years behind bars if they report faulty numbers.
However, members of Congress can mislead the nation with budget and reporting numbers they pull out of thin air and not worry about retribution.
They also love the social security system that they exempted government employees from having to pay into it.
Created a loophole to not participate in the Affordable Care Act as well with their own private deal.
They also don’t pay staffers overtime, nor are obliged to follow workers rights laws. There’s more, too. They are also protected from whistle blowers and others. Neat little club. And..they can vote themselves raises when they already earn 3X the median household.
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I’ve often stated that were they to return, the founders would be aghast with the current political system and start another revolution — post haste.
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reads like the Kenyan parliament.
Their first order of business is how can we screw these people over
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And I thought Kenya was all bliss. Hmph! Hehe
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You thought wrong
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Maybe I was thinking Ghana 😁
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They seem to have elected a sane man, but we will ask Veracious Poet. He shows up once in a while
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The political (ruling) class, in almost every society known to humankind, has always segregated itself from the concept of “we the people.” This trend is becoming even more common today as even the theoretical “democracies” are falling to the manipulations of a select few.
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what would you say of populist leaders such as Duterte, who rise to their positions on the platform of being pro people?
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I’d comment: “Practice what you preach or else, be prepared to reap what you sow.”
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Duterte is a prime example of what George Carlin (R.I.P.) spoke of: maybe the problem is not the politicians. Maybe the problem is the people. The Trumpalos are perfect examples of The People.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=george+carlin+politicians&qpvt=george+carlin+politicians&view=detail&mid=649E3E73E2FDFF286B4C649E3E73E2FDFF286B4C&&FORM=VRDGAR
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Well, Carlin had a point. The politicians come from among the people
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The political classes, with few exceptions within, cannot be ‘bound with the other citizens in mutual benefits and common rights’ as such bonds would run counter to the extant bonds with their corporate sponsors and future pocket-liners. Finally, citizens are becoming aware of this. This Greek gentleman expresses the situation in Europe most eloquently.
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Thanks for the vid.
I think as more citizens become aware of this, we may begin to see local actions to change this status and work towards better representation.
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Depends upon the person belonging to the political class.
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sometimes, but generally the political class seem to act as a class
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Yes. Sometimes they do
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If I remember correctly, Scipio argued that the commonwealth encompassed the welfare of the entire people, and that such a commonwealth would soon disintegrate if the rulers became tyrants . . . or something like that.
So, in theory at least, the answer is yes — the political class is bound with the other citizens in mutual benefits and common rights.
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you remember correctly. Still on the commonwealth, Scipio argued all forms of governance- monarchical, oligarchy, and democratical systems- each on their own are not good for the public weal and felt the best form of governance is one that combined all the three.
in a tyranny, the welfare of the people is and that of the political class is not bound together, I think.
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In a system whereby the political class is given the same rights and adheres to the same standards as their constituents, then yes, I would have to say that the political class COULD be the same as the people. However, you’d be hard pressed to find more than the occasional anecdote of that ever happening. By and large, politicians are held to different standards than “the people.” They play by a separate set of rules; they are allowed to get away with more; they are given the benefit of the doubt if (when) they commit a crime – the presumption being that they did it for the common good.
The mutual benefits side is interesting. You could argue that some politicians are held to a certain amount of “accountability” in some democratic-leaning countries. Therefore, in theory, we elect the politician (benefit to them) in exchange for their service towards our interests. However, as several studies over the decades have shown, the US Democratic system is one in which the corporation and the interest groups have more power than the electorate with regards to governmental policy. (See: Paul Krugman or Martin Gilens). With that in mind, it appears that there are instances where we elect the politicians (their benefit) only for them to put corporate interests ahead of our interests (no benefit to us.)
So overall, I’d have to guess – in this horrendously long personal anecdote – that the political class is not generally a part of Scipio’s “people.”
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I like the point you make with regard to accountability that some politicians in a few countries are held to, but one does see that in most cases, this is not the case and as you rightly point out, they get away with a lot, murder even.
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Maka: Marcus had a great take on this underlying question:
https://freethoughtblogs.com/stderr/2018/12/16/sunday-sermon-what-government-shutdowns-reveal-about-anarchism/#more-11000
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I will look at as soon as I clear my head
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Good piece, this one.
Coming from this side of the ocean, I can’t comprehend what a government shut down is, coz i don’t think it has happened here. What sections of governmit are affected? Say, does it affect the secret service or congress? Do governmit hospitals still work?
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