For all those that wonder why it takes so darn long for any meaningful change to happen, it has to be remembered that those that are in power, will not often, relinquish even a little bit of that power, voluntarily, or without a real good reason to do so. One might reasonably believe, though, that since no person lives forever, that therefore, during the changing of the guard, so to speak, change would thereby come; but alas, most of the time, that doesn’t occur, either.
When it comes to the rich and powerful, they recognize that the only possible way that they can leave a continuous generational legacy and therefore maintain that power, generation after generation, is that they have to get beyond the politicians and concentrate instead upon the actual Constitutional and judicial decisions that a given country must attend to, so as to define the law as it is written, to their preference, in implementation. After all, think about it, the same Constitution, along with its Amendments and the precedents so set from previous judicial decisions, represent, the rule of law, and that Constitution, is the Supreme law of the nation, of which, our Constitution was written way back in the late 18th century.
Further to the point, though some judges are elected; typically, we find, that they are elected in a way and manner, that is dissimilar to a political party candidate. So too, it must also be taken into full account, that the highest court of this land, the Supreme Court, has each of its members to it being appointed by the sitting President, and thus when each of these judges becomes confirmed, they are set to serve for life. Indeed then, it is evident, that owning a judge is far superior to owning a politician, and additionally, owning a judicial decision, is even better yet.
So then, when we hear that the times they are a changing, the problem that those that wish to make those changes are up against, is the very fact that the laws that they need to see be overturned or recodified, are already firmly established, and therefore are a very difficult thing to change, often to those upstarts disappointment and dismay. This then, signifies that those that are part of the status quo, don’t get to remain in the position that they are in, without having a very solid foundation to stand upon, and even when those that are the elite are severely outnumbered, they are, because of their status, position, and placement, almost impervious to being effectively negated or changed.
There are a lot of pathways to power and to the sustainability of that power, but it has to be said, that those that have power so contained within the interpretation of the governing document of that nation, through established judicial opinions and judicial decisions, are certainly in the catbird seat to be able to pass on to their progeny or to their inside associates, their form of power, rather readily, for what they have wrought is indeed a mighty fortress, which also consists of a vital watchtower, that sees everything.