Thomas Donlan on democracy and the 80-20 Rule

Democratic government has this fundamental problem: In broad terms, 20 percent of the people do most of the productive work and create most of the nation's wealth, but the other 80 percent command a heavy majority of votes. It's a pleasant surprise that democracies foster much investment and productivity growth at all.

~ Thomas G. Donlan, A World of Wealth (2008), p. xxi