Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Whizbang Dustyboots" data-source="post: 3329375" data-attributes="member: 11760">Eh, this situation is often overstated, IMO. In the United States, there are well-funded political machines that raise money to get candidates elected. By working one's way up from local politics, it's very possible that relatively ordinary people can eventually rise to high office. Along the way, their standard of living will change -- a governor's mansion is considerably nicer than a two bedroom, one and a half bathroom apartment -- but one doesn't have to be rich to get elected in America, and it's unlikely to ever end up that way.Now, if you want to come from nowhere and jump in at the deep end, yeah, having a private replacement for organized political parties is pretty much required and that does require wealth. But the Ross Perots of the world are still the exception.America was previously much more of a plutocracy when the right to vote was tied to land ownership. (Which, incidentally, would be a nice detail for a campaign setting: Characters have fewer rights unless they own land and since they're not making any more land, that's a strong incentive to help the nation expand its borders as adventurers/privateers.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Whizbang Dustyboots, post: 3329375, member: 11760"] Eh, this situation is often overstated, IMO. In the United States, there are well-funded political machines that raise money to get candidates elected. By working one's way up from local politics, it's very possible that relatively ordinary people can eventually rise to high office. Along the way, their standard of living will change -- a governor's mansion is considerably nicer than a two bedroom, one and a half bathroom apartment -- but one doesn't have to be rich to get elected in America, and it's unlikely to ever end up that way. Now, if you want to come from nowhere and jump in at the deep end, yeah, having a private replacement for organized political parties is pretty much required and that does require wealth. But the Ross Perots of the world are still the exception. America was previously much more of a plutocracy when the right to vote was tied to land ownership. (Which, incidentally, would be a nice detail for a campaign setting: Characters have fewer rights unless they own land and since they're not making any more land, that's a strong incentive to help the nation expand its borders as adventurers/privateers.) [/QUOTE]

Verification