"...The Trilateral Commission, bringing together liberal elites from Europe,
Japan, and the United
States, warned of an impending "crisis of democracy" as segments of the public sought to enter
the political arena. This "excess of democracy" was posing a threat to the unhampered rule
of
privileged elites -- what is called "democracy" in political theology. The problem was the
usual one:
the rabble were trying to manage their own affairs, gaining control over their communities and
pressing their political demands. There were organizing efforts among young people, ethnic
minorities, women, social activists, and others, encouraged by the struggles of benighted masses
elsewhere for freedom and independence. More "moderation in democracy" would be required,
the
Commission concluded, perhaps a return to the days when "Truman had been able to govern the
country with the cooperation of a relatively small number of Wall Street lawyers and bankers,"
as
the American rapporteur commented...."