All human societies are doomed to get corrupted and rot at one time or another: True

[Braznor]

.... or false?

Even in a hierarchy with a very effective system of checks and balances, the rot shall seep through it eventually exploiting every minor beloved patriot inside its organization, thanks to the frailty/selfishness of the humans composing it.

One of your American presidents got it right: the tree of liberty must always be watered with the blood of patriots, tyrants and yes, the corrupt.

No society can escape corruption and rot over the long term. No society, no matter how pure its founders or its ideals can escape the greed of men who wish to prevail over his brothers.

In light of this truth, the only generalization I can derive is that the quality of any society doesn't depend on how or why it gets corrupted. Instead that society's worth is only dependent upon the fact that how long it managed to evade corruption or the rot within itself.

I rest my case.

Hooo Hooo Hooo Haaa Haaa Haaa!

 

[Vdubchaos]

All empires fall sooner or later. It's not the enemy that cripples the empire, it's the empire's people. Enemy just moves in when the time is right to finish it off.

 

[SlitheryDee]

We can't quit fiddling with the government. We keep adding things to it, making it bigger and more complicated. What started out as a lean and mean system in the first years has swollen into an glutton for tax dollars that is too obese to actually turn that repast into any useful work.

That's just the way people are though. We all have some special thing that we think is important to add, or some particular thing that we want to outlaw, and our representatives want to prove they're actually doing something, so they push all of it right through along with whatever crooked nonsense they want for themselves as well. Two centuries of that, and the whole thing is an ineffable mess that needs a fresh start. That's basically what a revolution does, but why do we have to fight in this enlightened age to get it done?

 

[lxskllr]

We can't quit fiddling with the government. We keep adding things to it, making it bigger and more complicated. What started out as a lean and mean system in the first years has swollen into an glutton for tax dollars that is too obese to actually turn that repast into any useful work.

That's just the way people are though. We all have some special thing that we think is important to add, or some particular thing that we want to outlaw, and our representatives want to prove they're actually doing something, so they push all of it right through along with whatever crooked nonsense they want for themselves as well. Two centuries of that, and the whole thing is an ineffable mess that needs a fresh start. That's basically what a revolution does, but why do we have to fight in this enlightened age to get it done?

Anyone that says "There should be a law" should be kicked in the balls, and sent home to reconsider. If they still think it's a good idea, they can come back and try again.

 

[Juddog]

No society can escape corruption because humans, by nature, have a random chance of being corrupt themselves.

The only way to create a perfect society would be through super advanced computing and an AI overseer. I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords.

 

[JTsyo]

We can't quit fiddling with the government. We keep adding things to it, making it bigger and more complicated. What started out as a lean and mean system in the first years has swollen into an glutton for tax dollars that is too obese to actually turn that repast into any useful work.

That's just the way people are though. We all have some special thing that we think is important to add, or some particular thing that we want to outlaw, and our representatives want to prove they're actually doing something, so they push all of it right through along with whatever crooked nonsense they want for themselves as well. Two centuries of that, and the whole thing is an ineffable mess that needs a fresh start. That's basically what a revolution does, but why do we have to fight in this enlightened age to get it done?

At the same time it's impossible to create a perfect system that will last forever. The answer is to find a middle ground. When things get too messy, you can start over. Don't forget we already did this once without bloodshed. The Articles of Confederation didn't last long.
One thing I do find disturbing is how people hold the founding fathers as somewhat sacred. They were men too. They failed once in creating a loose government and learned form their mistakes. That doesn't be it was perfect the second time. They realized this and placed the option for amendments.