The USA is functionally an oligarchy, not a democracy. The groups with the most money hold untoward amounts of explicit and implicit power. Moneyed business interests own and control entire political parties, media outlets, financial institutions, etc.
It is truly terrifying to comprehend the breadth and depth of the dystopia that has roots in corporate greed. Modern pervasive surveillance technology implemented by the commercial sector worldwide makes real-time identification of dissent trivially easy. Laws may exist on paper to protect and empower citizens, but if corruption overrides accountability to those laws then functionally the government is authoritarian.
The average citizen in any oligarchy has very little influence or power over their government.
The USA is functionally an oligarchy, not a democracy. The groups with the most money hold untoward amounts of explicit and implicit power. Moneyed business interests own and control entire political parties, media outlets, financial institutions, etc.
It is truly terrifying to comprehend the breadth and depth of the dystopia that has roots in corporate greed. Modern pervasive surveillance technology implemented by the commercial sector worldwide makes real-time identification of dissent trivially easy. Laws may exist on paper to protect and empower citizens, but if corruption overrides accountability to those laws then functionally the government is authoritarian.
The average citizen in any oligarchy has very little influence or power over their government.