Or did something go awry?

Silvio Berlusconi brags that he's a self-made billionaire. And he claims every Italian can do the same. Become a rich fart. And for those who fail -- well, it's their fault. For lacking initiative. And not because of lack of opportunity. Berlusconi has dominated Italian politics for the past 17 years. Most of it as prime minister. He's loved and revered by some. Hated and despised by others, including my Italian true love. She thinks Berlusconi is a rascal, a charlatan, a buffoon. And that he will leave a shameful legacy, one that may take a century to eradicate and return Italy to respectability again. Of course, Berlusconi is no worse than many American politicians. He'd fit well into the American political scheme and scene. He's a typical capitalist. A man without scruples. Someone who long ago sold his soul. In exchange for money and power. In keeping with long-standing capitalist tradition cultivated in America. Berlusconi knows how to gratify his bulging ego. He's a politician through and through. Follows his own rules of convenience. Makes 'em up as he goes. Berlusconi represents everything that's wrong and downright dirty and despicable about capitalism. Greed abounds. The freedom to become a millionaire/billionaire at one's whim. No rules. No regulations. No interference by government. Just full-speed ahead. Survival of the most corrupt. The most ruthless. Berlusconi look at those who settle for the 'basics' in life as unfit to live in the real world. As gawd-forsaken socialists that prefer the welfare state that makes the likes of Berlusconi pay taxes to serve the common good. Berlusconi wants no part of the common good. It's far too common to suit his extravagant tastes. He wants only what's good for Berlusconi and his rich cronies. In Berlusconi's realm, wealth was not meant to be shared. But hoarded by the few. By the rich elite. Berlusconi would cozy up to Italy's version of Wall Street bankers. Out to make quick and easy bucks off the poor, the middle class, the gullible. And the amazing thing is that the Berlusconis keep getting away with it. By making the vast underclass subservient and docile and powerless. Ordinary citizens don't seem to have a clue on how to go about dumping Berlusconi and those of his ilk. The few that raise a protest often can be bought off. With paltry sums. With governmnet-related jobs. They turn into Berlusconi's paid allies. His dupes. His henchmen. Thus, life goes on in Italy. Much as it does in the USA. The capitalists prevail. They get richer and richer. And the poor keep getting poorer and poorer. Makes one wonder if that's the way the creator designed the world. Or did something go awry along the way? --Jim Broede