who will tell the people?

i recently finished reading an excellent book called who will tell the people, by william greider. (i'm learning that one of the benefits of living with a significant other is that your shelves are suddenly filled with new books you've never read)

it's a pretty eye-opening read. it doesn't necessarily tell you a lot you don't know, or didn't already suspect ("whoa, hold on, big business has way too much influence in government?"). it just says it in a way that's well-written, literate, but also very plain and stark. one might even say "depressing".

one thing the book did was confirm my belief that the line of demarcation that truly matters in this country is not the line between ordinary folks who are liberal and ordinary folks who are conservative. all that stuff does is sell books and TV ad time. no, i think the only line that really matters is the one between the people with the power (politicians and corporations) and the people without (the rest of us). in other words, if the urban pseudo-intellectual progressives and the middle-american blue collar workers of this country can ever truly unite and find their commonality of interests, we might have a chance to see some real democracy in this country.