Tyrannosaurus Che
6th December 2009, 05:37
This is the first draft of a paper I wrote about capitalism, democracy, and socialism in my leisure time. My thesis is that socialism is more compatible with democratic government than capitalism. I would appreciate feedback and constructive critique on how to develop this paper.
Why Capitalism is Incompatible with Democracy
Freedom. Liberty. Equality. We Americans love to throw these buzzwords around in our rhetoric. We take pride in the fact that we are the most geopolitically powerful “democracy” on the planet. However, when our nation was initially conceived, it was far from being a place of freedom or equality. America began a racist, sexist, and economically stratified society in which political power was held exclusively by rich white male landowners. Only after a series of amendments to the Constitution did America become a place where people of both sexes and all ethnicities and classes had any say in how the country was run. Even after these reforms, there remains one major obstacle to America becoming a true democracy. That obstacle is capitalism.
If you are like most Americans, that last sentence may have surprised you. Capitalism’s advocates have done a fantastic job of conflating capitalism with freedom and democracy in average Americans’ minds. We’ve all heard praise of the wonders of “free markets”. Part of the reason for the confusion of capitalism and democracy is that many non-capitalist economic systems, for example that of many so-called “communist” nations, are indeed less free than capitalism. Yet that does not automatically make capitalist a totally free system. It is still oppressive and anti-democratic.
To understand why, we must define what democracy and capitalism are. Democracy is a system of government in which political power is possessed not by a handful of elite individuals, but rather by the masses. It is the people’s vote that determines how a society is governed. No other system of government grants its population greater political and social freedom.
Capitalism, by contrast, is a system in which the means of economic production are controlled by a hierarchy of powerful elites controlling a large number of workers. Those ranking higher on the capitalist hierarchy are considered “bosses”, and the highest-ranking of all are called “Chief Executive Officers” (CEOs for short). All others are laborers who can only hope they have enough stamina or ruthlessness to ascend the hierarchy to the point where they can boss their fellow workers around. However, these laborers cannot vote on what policies their superiors adopt. They are almost living in a dictatorship.
A system as hierarchical as the one I just described does not fit well with democracy, because the masses cannot govern a society if they are being bossed around by layers upon layers of bosses and CEOs. Common people do not possess much power in capitalism. They do not have real freedom, nor do they enjoy socioeconomic equality. Democracy promises those things. Capitalism is therefore incompatible with democracy.
“If capitalism is incompatible with democracy,” you ask, “then what economic system is compatible?”
I will surprise you again: the only economic system compatible with democracy is socialism.
Socialism has gotten extremely unfavorable press in America, thanks to generations of conservative propagandists spreading paranoia about the alleged threat it poses to American values. Even today, conservatives like to accuse anyone not far enough to the right of being a socialist (witness their current treatment of President Obama for example). However, most people who rant about the evils of socialism do not really understand what it actually is.
In truth, socialism is a system in which the economic means of production are controlled by the workers themselves, not any hierarchy of lords, bosses, or CEOs commanding an army of subordinates. It is consensus among the people who determine how things run in a socialist system, not the dictates of a small number of elite individuals. In such a system, everyone possesses power and enjoys socioeconomic equality. If this sounds familiar, it should. This is how democracy is meant to work.
If Americans truly cared about freedom, liberty, and equality, we would abolish capitalism and replace it with socialism. Socialism, not capitalism, is the economic system most compatible with the democratic government almost all Americans claim to desire. Socialism is in fact synonymous with democracy. It is practically the same thing.
If America is to finally become the land of the free, it must abolish capitalism. It must become socialist. It must become a democracy.
Why Capitalism is Incompatible with Democracy
Freedom. Liberty. Equality. We Americans love to throw these buzzwords around in our rhetoric. We take pride in the fact that we are the most geopolitically powerful “democracy” on the planet. However, when our nation was initially conceived, it was far from being a place of freedom or equality. America began a racist, sexist, and economically stratified society in which political power was held exclusively by rich white male landowners. Only after a series of amendments to the Constitution did America become a place where people of both sexes and all ethnicities and classes had any say in how the country was run. Even after these reforms, there remains one major obstacle to America becoming a true democracy. That obstacle is capitalism.
If you are like most Americans, that last sentence may have surprised you. Capitalism’s advocates have done a fantastic job of conflating capitalism with freedom and democracy in average Americans’ minds. We’ve all heard praise of the wonders of “free markets”. Part of the reason for the confusion of capitalism and democracy is that many non-capitalist economic systems, for example that of many so-called “communist” nations, are indeed less free than capitalism. Yet that does not automatically make capitalist a totally free system. It is still oppressive and anti-democratic.
To understand why, we must define what democracy and capitalism are. Democracy is a system of government in which political power is possessed not by a handful of elite individuals, but rather by the masses. It is the people’s vote that determines how a society is governed. No other system of government grants its population greater political and social freedom.
Capitalism, by contrast, is a system in which the means of economic production are controlled by a hierarchy of powerful elites controlling a large number of workers. Those ranking higher on the capitalist hierarchy are considered “bosses”, and the highest-ranking of all are called “Chief Executive Officers” (CEOs for short). All others are laborers who can only hope they have enough stamina or ruthlessness to ascend the hierarchy to the point where they can boss their fellow workers around. However, these laborers cannot vote on what policies their superiors adopt. They are almost living in a dictatorship.
A system as hierarchical as the one I just described does not fit well with democracy, because the masses cannot govern a society if they are being bossed around by layers upon layers of bosses and CEOs. Common people do not possess much power in capitalism. They do not have real freedom, nor do they enjoy socioeconomic equality. Democracy promises those things. Capitalism is therefore incompatible with democracy.
“If capitalism is incompatible with democracy,” you ask, “then what economic system is compatible?”
I will surprise you again: the only economic system compatible with democracy is socialism.
Socialism has gotten extremely unfavorable press in America, thanks to generations of conservative propagandists spreading paranoia about the alleged threat it poses to American values. Even today, conservatives like to accuse anyone not far enough to the right of being a socialist (witness their current treatment of President Obama for example). However, most people who rant about the evils of socialism do not really understand what it actually is.
In truth, socialism is a system in which the economic means of production are controlled by the workers themselves, not any hierarchy of lords, bosses, or CEOs commanding an army of subordinates. It is consensus among the people who determine how things run in a socialist system, not the dictates of a small number of elite individuals. In such a system, everyone possesses power and enjoys socioeconomic equality. If this sounds familiar, it should. This is how democracy is meant to work.
If Americans truly cared about freedom, liberty, and equality, we would abolish capitalism and replace it with socialism. Socialism, not capitalism, is the economic system most compatible with the democratic government almost all Americans claim to desire. Socialism is in fact synonymous with democracy. It is practically the same thing.
If America is to finally become the land of the free, it must abolish capitalism. It must become socialist. It must become a democracy.