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The political system is largely the captive of special interests and lobbyists who dole out bushels of money. In the old days it used to be called influence peddling. Today it is simply politics as usual. In the din of ringing cash registers the voices of ordinary people cannot be heard. Voters don't vote and democracy atrophies. Among industrialised countries the US has the sharpest levels of income and wealth inequality. Are the times ripe for change?
Frances Fox Piven, founder of the welfare rights movement, is co-author of a number of award-winning books, including Regulating the Poor, The Breaking of the American Social Compact and Why Americans Still Don't Vote. She is Distinguished Professor of political science and sociology at the graduate school of the City University of New York.
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