I've always had a Marxist understanding of history: democracy is a result of a broad modernization process that happens in every country. Neocons think the use of political power can force the pace of change, but ultimately it depends on societies doing it themselves.

The great enemy of freedom is the alignment of political power with wealth. This alignment destroys the commonwealth - that is, the natural wealth of localities and the local economies of household, neighborhood, and community - and so destroys democracy, of which the commonwealth is the foundation and practical means.

The greatest power is not money power, but political power.

You can use a biography to examine political power, but only if you pick the right guy.

It is economic power that determines political power, and governments become the political functionaries of economic power.

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.