Governments, if they endure, always tend increasingly toward aristocratic forms. No government in history has been known to evade this pattern. And as the aristocracy develops, government tends more and more to act exclusively in the interests of the ruling class — whether that class be hereditary royalty, oligarchs of financial empires, or entrenched bureaucracy.
Politics as Repeat Phenomenon: Bene Gesserit Training Manual
and to add to that:
Good government never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern. The machinery of government is always subordinate to the will of those who administer that machinery. The most important element of government, therefore, is the method of choosing leaders.
Law and Governance The Spacing Guild Manual
The thing I love about the Dune series is how much it is able to teach politics in its writings. Dune deals with religion, politics, and human nature that is simply amazing.
Now, when I look out at the present and these quotes it becomes obvious to me why elections matter. Only when people vote their interests can they limit the power of those who try to amass power. The Internet is one of the great equalizers of our time. But it is still limited in its ability to move people to vote.
Consider how the machinery of government was used in the Bush Administration to stop enforcing regulations or changed burdens of proof. The Justice Department looked at voter fraud instead of Voting Rights Act violations.
Consider how Citizens United has allowed vast sums of money to pour into this election cycle to attempt to buy an election. The money going overwhelmingly to one side - the side that will increase benefits for the very wealthy or corporations.
The ACA ruling could very well overturn an attempt to provide healthcare for all. ACA doesn't benefit the ruling class (in Bene Geserit parlance) so its impact is shrugged off.
It is always interesting to find an Axiom and see that it is playing out in real time. The problem with that is simple: the Dune Universe was a neo-feudal one. Perhaps it is a warning worth listening to.