Adsactly Education: The Marriage of Democracy and Capitalism
“I am not the first to point out that capitalism, having defeated Communism, now seems to be about to do the same to democracy. The market is doing splendidly, yet we are not, somehow.”—Ian Frazier, On The Rez, 2000
The Marriage of Capitalism and Democracy
For the last 150 years Capitalism and Democracy have been married. For better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. At times it has been a torrid romance that is exciting and somehow dangerous, at times it has been staid old folks, home raising the children.
What is the state of that marriage in 2018?
Are the partners happy in their union? Do unicorns and roses follow them wherever they go?
Are they putting in time? Is all the excitement gone? Is there a lover on the side?
Is this a toxic relationship? Is that hatred in their eyes? Is one partner slowly poisoning the other?
Two Systems Destined for One Another
Almost from the very start Capitalism has seemed destined for Democracy. The rise of Capitalism as we know it has also been the rise of Democracy as we know it. Merchants and traders have always needed a certain amount of freedom and liberty in their business dealings. Democracy has always needed people that yearn to be free and long for self determination. Capitalism has always required a free and willing workforce that only Democracy can legitimately provide.
Is Business Getting Too Big For Democracy?
As businesses get larger and larger they take a bigger bite of every election that is held. Candidates can not successfully run for office without some form of corporate support and money. The days when they could are simply gone.
Businesses are not going to support a candidate that is specifically opposed to their interests. The bottom line and shareholders simply will not allow it. Influence buying and selling is a toxic poison to Democracy. Is this going on? Is there sufficient poison in the system today to make Democracy ill? Is it a fatal condition?
Is Business Running Democracy?
We know for a fact that business influences Democracy. Whether by direct money involvement or the pressure put on the workforce to vote a specific way business certainly influences the democratic process. That certainly puts a strain on the process and the product of Democracy.
What percentage of the laws and regulations that are passed by any legislature are related to business and how they conduct their business? Taxes most certainly have affect how companies conduct business. Building regulations are also part of the mix with fees and permits that have an effect on how and where business can operate. Health benefits? Of course those regulations affect the bottom line. I would submit that a huge fraction of all legislation is directly involved with business.
Banks, Capitalism and Democracy
Banks not only are businesses, they are vital to the conduct of all business. Just handling the huge flow of money into and out of business every day is an enormous factor. Credit and the ability of businesses to react quickly and decisively to changes in the market are incredibly important from the Mom and Pop Hardware store to Elon Musk and Tesla.
Capitalism runs on banking. Banking runs on Capitalism. Is one or the other of these two partners dominating the other? Are banks and the issuance of currency unfairly hindering business and the way it conducts business? Are the interest rates gouging business and their shareholders? Are the banks taking on too much risk in funding business? Is there an answer?
Democracy requires three things by definition: Free and fair elections, equal representation under the law, and self determination of the electorate. Are banks and banking making these three requirements easier or harder for the general population?
Is money speculation threatening Capitalism or Democracy?
During the financial crisis of 2008 many mortgages in the US had been sold multiple times. That meant that as much as 90% of the money involved in the mortgage industry was NOT backed by property as originally sold. It was speculation, pure and simple. It almost brought the system completely down. Is speculation and money manipulation killing Capitalism and/or Democracy?
Does One System Exist For The Other?
Is Capitalism subservient to Democracy? Is Democracy subservient to Capitalism?
One of the absolute keys to a successful Democracy is personal freedom. One of the absolute keys to Capitalism is corporate security for business. How much do these two overlap and compete with each other?
Obviously, business needs to have a certain amount of loyalty from their employees. Company secrets and processes simply can not be given to competitors in the marketplace. Individuals have every right to visit with their brother-in-law over a few beers. When and where do these two things come into conflict with one another?
McDonalds doesn’t care if you stand there with a stopwatch to see just how long they cook their fries, but McDonald Douglass doesn’t want you to casually discuss the effectiveness of their latest Radar transponder with your brother-in-law. Some personal freedom is lost in every single job situation.
How IS the Work Force Doing?
One of the tenements of Democracy and Capitalism is a readily available skilled workforce that produces goods and services for the capital holders. How the electorate and/or workforce is doing in general is a mark of both systems.
Automation in manufacturing has eliminated a great many good paying jobs in the manufacturing sector. Robots get better every day, never take a vacation or sick day, and have a fixed cost relative to the business. Humans are less dependable and more likely to cause slowdowns or stoppages. Automation is here to stay and many of the jobs that everyman aspired to no longer exist.
Unions no longer hold the power and trust they once did. They are still trying to defend a shrinking position and are generally ineffective and unproductive. The negotiation power of a Union has been sapped by automation and pressure from the business owners to improve the bottom line.
Many of those lost jobs have been transferred to the service sector where minimum wage dead end jobs abound. The original idea behind minimum wage was to protect new workers and force business to start employees at a fair hourly rate. In the service sector today, minimum wage is the standard pay level for all employees.
Is Capitalism Affecting Elections To The Point Of Affecting Democracy?
There is no question that elections are becoming more and more corporate. In the US a corporation now has the same rights as an individual which means money simply flows into political campaigns.
Many, if not most, elections feature two ‘corporate’ candidates. At the presidential level this is often ‘sector’ driven, with Banking backing one candidate and Manufacturing backing another. At the state level we see individual industries backing candidates like a mining candidate vs an aircraft manufacturing candidate. Locally it is often specific businesses that back individual candidates.
Are these truly ‘free and fair elections’ as needed by Democracy to survive?
Options
So far, this article has, by design, asked a great number of questions and provided very few answers. The point of this has been to get you, the reader, to consider the state of Capitalism and Democracy in your own situation.
There are options, and there are opinions. We will deal with these in depth in a subsequent post. In the meantime, I would be very interested in your answers to the questions below. I hope that the comments here will provide more answers than the post did.
Are there options in the current situation? Is the trend line heading for disaster, or is it heading in a logical and ethical direction? Is there anything that can be done?
Authored by: @bigtom13
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