[Christien]

Heh, that's awesome. I can see the logic in the path he's traced, but I can't think of any countries who've actually completed the cycle, and I can think of a few who've stopped halfway through. I'm assuming you're saying the US is in the last stage, hanging at dependency and headed towards bondage, but I can't really see it happening, despite all the dire predictions of some people...

I couldn't agree more with the general principal that democracy will be subverted by the voters, but I don't think it's because of loose fiscal policy. While that certainly contributes to it, the opposite, tight fiscal policy, won't solve democracy's problems. Rather, apathy and stupidity are probably democracy's biggest enemy. An uninformed and/or apathetic public with votes can be a dangerous thing. A public that can be suckered into voting through slick advertising campaigns paid for by lobbyists is a dangerous thing. When the voting public stops thinking critically about the democratic process and their leaders, democracy ceases to function properly.