Der Bürgerkrieg in Frankreich Quotes

“Nowhere do “politicians” form a more distinct and powerful segment of the nation than in North America. Here, each of the two major parties, which take turns in power, is itself governed by people who treat politics as a business, who speculate on seats in the legislative assemblies of both the federal government and the individual states, or who make a living by campaigning for their party and are rewarded with positions after its victory. It is well known how Americans have been trying for 30 years to shake off this yoke, which has become unbearable, and how, despite all this, they are sinking ever deeper into this quagmire of corruption. It is precisely in America that we can best see how this separation of state power from society—of which it was originally intended to be merely an instrument—is taking place. Here there is no dynasty, no nobility, no standing army—except for the few men guarding the Indians—and no bureaucracy with permanent positions or pension entitlements. And yet we have here two large gangs of political speculators who take turns seizing state power and exploiting it through the most corrupt means and for the most corrupt purposes—and the nation is powerless against these two large cartels of politicians, who supposedly serve it but in reality dominate and plunder it.

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― Friedrich Engels, Der Bürgerkrieg in Frankreich: Adresse des Generalraths der Internationalen Arbeiter-Association. Dritte deutsche Auflage