Using a pyramid form to model the human socio-economic system would seem to imply that leadership is not only natural but required. Whether or not this is true is dependant upon the individuals that make up the society in question. The founding fathers of the United States of America structured the governmental system of the nascent democracy so as to allow and even favor the collective rule of individuals over a central government. Logistics seems to dissolve the ground from under this form as a nation this complex, powerful and influential can not simply be allowed to "run itself". Or so it would seem. The foundations of the original idea of democracy are still in place and intact. The only real compromise that has occurred is that of capitalism, which has no relationship to democracy, freedom or the true prosperity of a nation in the first place. Capitalism is the opposite of democracy. In a democratic system, the pyramid is topless. The ultimate rule is with the masses, or the bottom levels of the structure. In capitalism, the rule emanates from the top. The nature of that rule is skewed however, as it's only real interest is in its own propagation. Alpha male or the herd. The United States of America has up until now managed to balance the two and to create a synergy between them that has resulted in the best of both worlds. The power and determinism of capitalism and the consciousness and dampening of democracy. The constant struggle between them is beginning to take on a new shape as economics and capitalism go global. 100 years ago, the only persons participating in the capitalist system in the United States of America were Americans, voters. This is no longer the case. The constant need for economic growth and expansion has driven the willingness to allow others to enter and play the capital game in the USA. They may not necessarily be democratic in their thinking. They do not vote, nor do they have a right to have a say in the political system of this nation. Yet, due to there wealth, they do. No, foreigners coming to America do not receive $10,000 upon entering and the guarantee of a high-paying job for free. Thats an urban legend. The problem is that there is a class of foreigners that arrive with more influence over the future of this nation the us, the wealthy. Communist China owns a vast amount of the US economic system. Funny isn't it. The poor that come here from Latin America get a bad rap but at least they are "one man, one vote" CEO's from the Middle East, the Ukraine and China cast a big shadow over the capital and they don't care about the rights of the people. They may not even believe in democracy and think that they have a better idea than us. The people of their nations would, in all likelihood, agree with us regarding the matter of government of the people, by the people and for the people. But they have neither the vote nor the money to have a say in the matter. This would seem to be an increasingly precarious balance. Would it not be better if the "average" people of the would all had the power to vote and express the will of the people in the matter of the future of the world? When the USA was isolated by time and distance we could control (for the most part,sometimes) the actions of the capitalists who sought to trample the foolishness of democracy in favor of the raw power of capital and the rule of the powerful. We have no such control over the capitalists of other nations yet they have a greater vote in the running of our nation than we do. A single, global system would allow the balance to be restored, and the rule of the individual (ALL of them, not just the one's who "know better" ) to return. Global democracy is the only answer. Socio-economic sanity and the equitable distribution of wealth are one in the same thing. Yes, the United States is working very hard to export the democratic systems of government and level the planet on the same playing field, insuring that justice and personal freedom are the property of all. Economic justice is the next step. No, not the communist concept of the destruction of wealth. Rather the restructuring of the capitalist system to insure that the lower levels of the pyramid are solid and growing thereby forming a stronger foundation for the future and the stability to support our ever more accelerated race into the future. We have the ability to exercise our collective voice in the political system, what we lack is the power to exercise our collective wallets and "shout down" the wealthy. Its really just common sense.