I do believe that democracy is possible, but I agree with you that corruption is the biggest threat to anything. There does not seem to be any peaceful means to deal with corruption, either. In US, the media is a big joke! I watch the BBC, Al Jazeera and Russia Today and I am better informed than the masses of Americans who watch FOX "news" (I refuse to call it NEWS without the quotations! Ethical reasons!).

Then we have the corruption of the uber-wealthy, who buy our congressional representatives by the bushel. I think our elected officials should all wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers wear, which show who sponsored them. I enjoy watching Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart expose this corruption and nonsense. But I find it deeply disturbing, that I must rely on "comedians" to get information!!! That is how bad our "news" media is these days. I was a journalist for 15 years and I left the business for this very reason.