The DU Lounge

Left on its own, capitalism evolves into monopolies, and government by the people who have the most capital. There is no escape from that if you insist on the purest form of capitalism, no regulation, no restrictions, and government only by the unseen hand of the markets.

Just about every major country has some elements of capitalism -- even China. But there is nowhere that the billionaires are allowed to run free the way they do in the USA.

It was the same way in the late 19th century with the railroads, the robber barons, and the emerging oil companies. It took the larger-than-life force of Teddy Roosevelt to bring these oligarchs back to earth, and then 4 terms of Franklin Roosevelt to really solidify the notion of a middle class, social programs, education for the masses labor representation and a living wage. For the 80 years since FDR's time the Republican Party has been doing everything in their power to bring back the era of robber barons.

And that is where we are today. Trump is not admired in this crowd. But he proven amoral and ruthless enough to give the new barons what they want. And they give Trump what he wants -- the ability to spend every day bullying, grifting and threatening. That is where his real passion is. But make not mistake. Trump is not the architect of this. And the system will not correct on its own after he dies. We need strong-willed leadership, such as we had with Teddy and FDR.