St. Thomas More on the nature of governments

NCR reader Steve Janowski, who prides himself as being "a Jesuit educated Catholic," having read my recent post, "Death throes for democracy in America," asked me to share with our readers something pertinent St. Thomas More once wrote in Utopia:

"Therefore I must say that, I can have no other notion of all the other governments that I see or know, than that they are a conspiracy of the rich, who, on pretence of managing the public, only pursue their private ends, and devise all the ways and arts they can find out; first, that they may, without danger, preserve all that they have so ill-acquired, and then, that they may engage the poor to toil and labour for them at as low rates as possible, and oppress them as much as they please."

It seems not much has changed.

Thanks, Steve, for this contribution.