Quote Originally Posted by Feanor
Yes, it does. Obviously: because there will always be significant minority who place greed and self-interest above the common good. Remeber that we aren't just talking individual people; we are talking corporate interests, many of them global rather than national, that are driven exclusively by their next quarter earnings-per-share and nothing else. These interests must be compelled to do the right thing for the community by government.

What is wrong with government? First let's acknowledge in a democracy the goverment is the primary agent of the people. No private interest is so charged. If people don't like the government, they should vote for change rather than just condemn their government. The problem might that our political reps don't really represent us but instead corporate and funders.

To counter that, citizens need to critically indentify where their real interests lie and ignore to politicians clap-trap designed to appeal to their fears and prejudices. Is this asking too much? If you will, a major aspect of personal responsibility is electing political representives who represent the real, long term, interests of ourselves and communities.
When will these political representives start running for office? I'll vote for them.