Therefore I must say that, as I hope for mercy, I can have no other notion of all the other governments that I see or know, than that they are a conspiracy of the rich, who, on pretence of managing the public, only pursue their private ends, and devise all the ways and arts they can find out; first, that they may, without danger, preserve all that they have so ill-acquired, and then, that they may engage the poor to toil and labour for them at as low rates as possible, and oppress them as much as they please; and if they can but prevail to get these contrivances established by the show of public authority, which is considered as the representative of the whole people, then they are accounted laws.
Thomas More
Things haven’t changed much in 600 years, or probably 6 thousand.
And another constant is that the number of men who are both honest and wise is very low.
Boy howdy, you both sure got it right. I hated dealing with politicians. It always left me feeling slimy and more than a little depressed, to think the future of this nation was up to these sorry, corrupt bastards.
We really do need a better class of crooks.