Capitalism Is the Enemy of Democracy

[Capt Bringdown]

Capitalism is the Enemy of Democracy

Ownership of wealth obviously confers power; it gives some individuals an upper hand in the "voluntary" exchanges they make with others. Lacking the means otherwise to support ourselves, most of us must hire out our ability to do work in exchange for wages. We might do quite well if we are educated and talented, lucky or white, but even so, we ultimately produce more value than we are paid - that is, after all, the reason we are hired.

Wealth ownership, thus, gives an upper hand to employers in these voluntary exchanges with working people. The extra value we create flows steadily into the hands of wealth holders and we don't have a say over what it is used for.

Excluding people from having a say over what happens to the wealth we create is the first and the most fundamental way that any capitalist system undermines democracy. We are fundamentally disenfranchised in the places we work. Wealth owners control the levers of investment and, thus, the "needs" of capital trump those of workers when it comes to making decisions about what gets produced, how and for whom.

Beyond this, neoliberal capitalism goes further - it uses the value you and I create to enforce a virtual dictatorship by wealth in the political sphere. The most obvious manifestation of this dictatorship by wealth is the unlimited corporate financing of our elected representatives.
- more -

[Yonivore]

And, Democracy is the enemy of liberty. That is why our founders opted for a Republican form of government.

But, just for grins...what economic system is the friend of Democracy?

[boutons_deux]

regulated finance and capitalism work fine, have for decades of wide-spread growth, but the VRWC got them both deregulated and gamed, so we're truly ed up now, and for the foreseeable future. Finance will probably do another bubble, they ALWAYS do, and there's nothing changed after the last bubble to restain them.

A democratic republic with elected representatives was the original idea, but Human-Americans have been disenfranchised and outvoted by the UCA and financial sector.

[Blake]

And, Democracy is the enemy of liberty. That is why our founders opted for a Republican form of government.

how many allies does liberty have?

[Winehole23]