Analysis of Plutocracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of Plutocracy - Essay Example He notes that such a rule can take varied forms. First, that some of the individuals who are at the helm of authority are rich and it is the wealth they possess that defines why they are in the high offices. The authority which such people exercise works in favor and the interest of the rich people. The actions that individuals in offices take are influenced by them since they have the primary influence on who hold the offices. Brenner notes that these aspects of plutocracy would not necessarily be exclusive. At some point, the government of the rich and for the rich may not be actually run by the rich. Brenner identifies certain circumstances in which the United States may be seen to be practicing plutocracy. One of the features of USA for the past decade is the gross income redistribution. He points at the statistics that point that since 1973, approximately 80% of the wealth generated nationally has gone to the 2% of upper-class America. Brenner points a few matters that define Plutocracy, including the suspension of equal application and protection by the law and when megabanks make profits which are illicit through the laundering of money for the drug cartels. The second article that the study needs to examine is the Robert Reich article in which he discusses The Koch Brothers and the Danger of American Plutocracy. In his argument, he points that blame should not be directed towards Charles and David Koch for having more wealth compared to the 40% of the Americans at the bottom put together. He notes that the two individuals have played by the rules and have obeyed the law, even with their petrochemical empire. Reich points that the point of departure from the rules is the efforts that the two brothers are making to use their wealth to change those particular rules in their favor. This action would be directly undermining the democracy that America has endeavored to protect. Â  

From Grass to Grace, - My Family's American Dream Success Essay

From Grass to Grace, - My Family's American Dream Success - Essay Example The constant fear of the safety of the families and friends they left behind in the war zones gave him sleepless nights. My grandfather especially had a very rough time accepting that all he had worked for all his life was destroyed by the civil war. This was a bitter pill for him to swallow at first and he still has those memories fresh in his mind since he hardly skips a day without mentioning it. Having lost all his life savings in the war, the money he had made from a laborer job in a coal mining firm in Nigeria. Since he had been brought up in a poor family he had to struggle in his youth doing manual jobs. All along he had a dream of re-establishing his father’s blacksmiths business which had been shattered by the war, but as time lapsed his dreams became more and more unachievable. Son, the ugliness of the war became a blessing in disguise. As the opportunity to leave behind the dead zone with his young family for the United States was like a dream come true. To them th is was a second chance to start afresh since the United States was described as a land of milk and honey. Getting a visa was difficult at the time when racial discrimination was still high in the US and despite all these to them it was better than living in the war zone. They came into the country with great optimism like the other immigrants, who had heard stories of individual opportunity and the possibility of achieving upward mobility in America. They counted on these promises of paradise on earth, a land that would yield to them all the good things they had lacked in their home country. Their notion towards individual opportunity can be attributed to many rag-to-riches stories of 18th century. Furchtgott-Roth et.al in their book ‘To make World Anew; A history of African Americans’ focused on a young man’s progress from a poor background towards fame and fortune (2009). This was a perfect comparison with my grandfather’s life, he grew from a poor and w ar ravaged neighborhood and struggled to achieve a better life for him and his family. His life was full of struggles from childhood to his adulthood; he had to endure so much to become successful. Although this story was written centuries ago its legacy has been resilient, passing from one generation to another. Unaware of the unflinching anxiety that triggers from societal expectations they started life in a foreign country where they knew nothing about but only the success myths they had heard. Since they had little knowledge of the foreign land they had to face many challenges before they start their lives afresh. It was difficult to get a well paying job and because my grandparents did not have enough education they had to work in several jobs but still the pay was not enough to sustain them. As time went along they started to realize that the actualization of their dreams might be further than they had thought. With every promise of individual opportunity dangling with high pr ize, those factors that would demean prospects surfaced. Having left their country with virtually nothing, they had a tough time ahead and if they were to make it they had to struggle with multiple jobs. I remember my dad telling me that my grandparents left Nigeria with only 75 dollars as their savings. With no job at hand, finding a job to sustain their lives was the greatest challenge; they could not afford house rent and had to live in a shelter home in Alabama. At this time they relied on