Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy - Business Insider
The U.S. government does not represent the interests of the majority of
the country's citizens, but is instead ruled by those of the rich and
powerful, a new study from Princeton and Northwestern universities has
concluded.
The report, "Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens" (PDF), used extensive policy data collected between 1981 and 2002 to empirically determine the state of the U.S. political system.
After sifting through nearly 1,800 U.S. policies enacted in that
period and comparing them to the expressed preferences of average
Americans (50th percentile of income), affluent Americans (90th
percentile), and large special interests groups, researchers concluded
that the U.S. is dominated by its economic elite.
The peer-reviewed study, which will be taught at these universities
in September, says: "The central point that emerges from our research is
that economic elites and organized groups representing business
interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy,
while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no
independent influence."
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