What form of governement does the United States have?

[terrya]

It certainly isn't a democracy. I don't think even the Founding Fathers meant the United States to be a true democracy.

So, what do we have now? A plutocracy? That's my take...the true power residing in the wealthy and powerful.

How would you describe the government of the United States of America?

[TexasMexican]

1. democratic republic

also know as a representative democracy.

[Wetzelbill]

2. tough call, we certainly have what I consider oligarchs in this country

I don't think a pure democracy would have an electoral college, either. That's my take.

[htuttle]

3. Functionally, it's a hereditary oligarchy

Maybe plutocracy is a better word, but the wealth and power stay concentrated within familial lines, so that's why I think maybe oligarchy.

What the Founding Fathers designed was a Republic.

[NewGuy]

16. There are a few cases of hereditary wealth

however, many of the wealthy people in this nation today got there through either sports or entertainment and most of them have middle class families or lower. Pro football alone creates more millionaires a year than does heredity.

[MSchreader]

4. Dictatorship of the capitalist class

Of the bosses, by the bosses, for the bosses.

Martin

[Loonman]

5. Representative Republic

Now, however, we have corporatism and pre-fascism.

[cthrumatrix]

6. any kind the corporations want.....they own our govt , media & more

[ArkDem]

7. We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune

.

[Kolesar]

10. we each take turns being a sort-of "executive director for a week"

[ArkDem]

15. Exactly!

.

[Virgil]

8. Corruptionism

with monopolistic capitalism requliring a police state and media control to keep the subjects herded.

[Alpharetta]

9. Religious Corporatocracy

Sacred is the corporate veil. Never shall it be lifted.

All sacrifice for Halliburton. All amnesty for Enron.

FoxNews is their Vatican. At the World Trade Agreement talks in Miami they labeled the protesters "a fringe group". Right when 2000 American steel workers were marching by en masse.

What's good for corporate thieves is good for America. The new slogan on dollar bills: "In corporations we trust".

They try to tell us Jesus would have been a meek investor, never questioning the board of directors.

[Beaker]

11. we're on the road to a Plutocratic Aristocracy.

or is it an Aristocratic Plutocracy?
(i git confused...)

[SteveG]

12. Federal Republic

made up of individual States with their sovereignty limited by the Federal Constitution. Each State is guaranteed a Republican Form of Government, in other words an elective government with an elective legislative body. The electorate is now defined as all Citizens, native born or naturalized, who are not convicted felons, over the age of 18. All persons who are born in the U.S. are defined as citizens.

functionally, we are an elective oligarchy.

[Ready4Change]

13. Government by "The Matrix"

Voting as it stands now is more a choice over which corporations will be served first, because it's corporations who foot the election bill. Any candidate who doesn't/won't serve the interests of corporations can't get the money to get elected in the first place.

Therefore corporations are now the most important "citizens" of the USA.

I was watching The Matrix with a friend, and he was wondering if machines really could/should take over domination of Earth from Humans. I said that question is meaningless, as Humans have already lost domination of the Earth to Corporations.

We ARE in the Matrix. Corporations are the machines. The media is the illusion which has the citizenry blinded, confused and/or bedazzled.

[DUreader]

14. Plutocratic Beaurocracy

[Aidoneus]

17. plutocratic oligarchy, with cheap facades on the side as lullabies

Martin's response is the best, however.

[JackRiddler]

18. Gangsterism

Under Bush, it's open gangsterism. Banana Republic. Guns, Oil and Drugs are the ruling industries. So I call the Republicans the Party of G.O.D. (The Democrats who actually get to run the government are currently best described as the Little Rock Mafia Subdivision of the Party of G.O.D.)

Under either party, it's been the Corporate Matrix and the National Security State. These are logical outgrowths of oligarchical capitalism (plutocracy) in perpetual crisis.

It's also fascism - power monopoly with economy in private hands - but the term is not very useful because too incendiary (and overused). Obviously many fascist tools are in place.

Formally, it retains a few vestiges of constitutional republican democracy. A very few, just enough to maintain the illusions of the matrix. The legislature is finished, the executive is in charge, but there is still a bit of judiciary... enough to require tort reform.

[durutti]

19. A liberal democracy

Or a republic. Of course, all liberal democracies are also plutocracies by default.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

20. Anyone that still believes that we're a democracy or even a republic...

...is just not paying attention to what's been happening since 9/11.

We are now a fascist state with a ruler that has been given unlimited powers to wage war with a completely subservient military organization. The draft will be ready to run in mid-2005 so that military manpower will never be an issue.

His control of the domestic population has been consolidated via the Patriot Act and the recent enhancement of FBI powers.

He also has complete control over the legislative and judiciary branches.

Additionally, the captive mainstream media primarily presents the views of the ruling party with little or no mention of opposing points of view.

Complete global domination through military means and/or intimidation is the eventual goal.

Remember when Dubya stated at least three differnt times that "This would be a lot easier if it were a dictatorship"? He wasn't joking.

[Jacobin]

21. Fascist Republic

With a veneer of democratic representation, entirely controlled by the corporate media to make sure the "voters" do the bidding of the corporatists who control all.

[Yupster]

22. Ask Ben Franklin

At the close of the Constitutional Convention, a woman asked Benjamin Franklin what type of government the Constitution was bringing into existence. Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

[Kitsune]

23. Infotainmentocracy

All hail the glowing cyclops.

[no_hypocrisy]

24. Technically, this country is a constitutional republic. Not a democracy.

n/t