I was pleasantly surprised by the OP and the responses on the first page. If everyone (well, most anyway) recognizes the problem, can we point a solution? Has there even been one in the past? The human desire to dominate and exert control over others is ever present, and the abuses of power and influence become more and more severe the more one gains.

If it's a capitalist western "democracy" faceless corporations will pollute, sue, extort, bribe, spread lies and propaganda and basically do anything for those few who own them. Those few then are above the law and regular folk. They can own politicians, media, patents, whatever. They are untouchable and further increasing their wealth is only a means to obtaining more power.

If it's some sort of totalitarian/autocratic government the same things happen but are done by the ruling party and the secret police.

The only difference is that in the first scenario the people are being given the illusion of freedom (you are free to buy a 2.6 million dollar house. No one is stopping you.) and in the second one you get some social benefits like health care, school and security, but at the cost of total control, indoctrination and the secret police labeling "enemies within".

Overall both systems suck hard. The flaw with today's society is that the whole currency system and the way we conceptualize economics is flawed. If all we ever had in the world were goods and services produced and exchanged between people, then each man would be worth as much as the value they provide to their community. But now we make money from money: loans, mortgages, forex, stock market and a thousand other tricks that make money out of nothing. We no longer see currency as a convenient means of exchanging goods or services, it is now its own demon that ran away with our lives.

And since the ones who manufacture money out of nothing also say how much it is worth and how much we get, it's easy to see how working hard and voting doesn't mean jack in today's world.

I am no expert on economics though. I'd still go back to gold standard, but hey, Qaddafi tried it and he got killed so... Actually, what is the official reason for removing the gold standard and allowing privately held central banks? Because the world bank said so?