LORD ACTON REDUX

“Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” — Lord Acton

Can we be said to all agree on this? And further agree that none of us bipeds are born more or less so corruptible than our fellows? Well, whether you agree with this or not, I will proceed under just that assumption. If you think you can make a case otherwise, you’re more than welcome to try. Good luck with that, though.
So. Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is a large reason to protect and extend democracy. Ideally, under a democracy, all living things have some power but none have too much. Yes, there is and will continue to be a certain amount of inequality of power; that’s a condition of life. But democracy is intended to make it so there is no one as abject to have no power at all nor anyone who is dangerously powerful enough to ‘bid defiance to our laws and people’, as Mr. Jefferson said of our moneyed corporations in the year of Grace 1814!
So this is one point of political democracy. But political democracy can be made into a hypocritical laughingstock when economic power is skewed toward the rich and already powerful. Inequality is already so great that our economy may not even be capitalist anymore: we may have crossed the line into a neo-feudal economy.
Those who have either never, or barely, had to work for their wealth think they do the poor and working people a favor by making their lives as miserably hard as possible for as little money as possible. A favor, so please you! ‘Builds character’, according to those who knew they were never going to miss a meal and…