Democracy has always faced immense skepticism over claims of a unique system of government. The origin of this skepticism can be traced to its very inception, even in its breeding ground Greece.

As Plato said:

“Dictatorship arises out of democracy and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty”.

Before questioning whether the current political system in US is democratic or oligarchic, one would have to differentiate between both forms of system.

On one hand we have democracy; a belief that focuses on rule of the people, more importantly the individual. Democracy is not just about voting, but to protect common interests of the people in shape of human rights, polity of life, infrastructure, civil liberty, and all pillars’ freedom. It basically implies rule by the majority based on their will which is reflected in the system.

On the other hand, Oligarchy is a system where power is effectively wielded by a small number of individuals defined by their status called oligarchs. Members of the oligarchs are rich, well-connected, politically powerful, as well as particularly well placed in institutions like banking and finance or the military.

The eventual development of capitalist democratic nature in US political culture has paved the way towards for the selfish oligarchic.

Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page, researchers at Princeton, have conducted a research on this issue and concluded that the preference of the average American appears to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically and non-significant impact on public policy. They have also pointed out the opinions major lobbying and business groups prefer in the policymaking process.

The Economist said in 2015 that United States is bordering “flawed democracy”. In democracy the core of the idea is voting which is facing antagonistic trends by the emergence of racist leadership.

Minorities are being marginalized by their voting rights, as President Obama said:

“Some of the protection that had been enshrined in the Voting Rights Act itself has been weakened”.

So can we say that US is a shining democracy?

In 2010, US Supreme Court alleged that corporations are spending unlimited amounts of cash on political campaigns. This case is apparent in 2016 elections because corporation may end up with a spending of $5 billion trying to get into the White House.

Focusing on the will of the people, let’s look at US invasion of Iraq. It was unpopular among the public, but in favor of vested interests of former President George W. Bush, neoconservatives, and most importantly the MNCs and Oil corporations.

Now this contemporary theatre is set for the US presidential elections 2016. The emergence of traditional racist contention in shape of Donald Trump’s leadership has raised many question as well as udnerscored the anti-democratic patterns in a favorable balance.

This rise of racist views has increased the tension in the free world, as they have faced the immediate criticism by China as well as many first and third world states. The comparison of Donald Trump with Hitler and Mussolini has brought the one of the world’s largest democracies under a threshold where the so-called fathers of democratic values are being marginalized.

The democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, during the campaign, has repeatedly argued that the capitalist democratic system has been changed into an oligarchic one. His stress on this transformation has pointed out that US is being governed by the few political elites who have taken over its institutions and financial system.

Democracy is a form of government by the people, for the people in the views of Abraham Lincoln. In this definition, I think Lincoln has provided the narrative for transparent and smooth functioning of institutions on which the power is distributed.  

In contemporary trends of democratic societies, the systems are working transparently, but it has produced more oligarchic nature of rule. Many of the democratic states have provided a small number of groups who are fighting for their competing interests. They own the resources, communication networks, industries, media and so on.