Edmodo Seminar Response Writing: Does democracy even exist in a capitalist system?
Does capitalism and democracy truly work together? Capitalism is based on individual profit and in a capitalist society the wealthiest hold the most power like corporate executives and politicians. Like I stated in the Edmodo seminar, “This desire for profit is so powerful that it allows corporations to trample the needs of society as a whole. It also allows them to accumulate much more money than the rest of society.” As John Perkins says, “It’s the corporatocracy, the heads of corporations, which control everything in the world” (Hunter). This is because at the core of capitalism is a structure that gives the most power to those with the most money. In the documentary Inequality for All, Robert Reich states, “With money comes the capacity to control politics” (Kornbluth) Therefore, this idea of capitalism as we see today doesn’t support our ideologies of democracy. Democracy is based on the majority of society, but capitalism is based on the desires of the 1%. This leaves the 99% struggling to get their voices heard and struggling to remain financially secure.
In the documentary Inequality for All, Robert Reich talks about the control corporations have over economics and politics. Lobbyists have a lot of control in being able to get there way into politics. They will support politicians financially if the politicians support them, whether that is installing laws, regulations (diminishing regulations), etc. This can become tricky because politicians owe these big corporations, which often times dismisses the needs of the majority (specifically the middle class). When the government takes away regulations for corporations they can get richer and richer. This increases the income gap. The average middle class man is taxed 33% of his income. Mitt Romney only had to pay 13% (Kornbluth). How does this make any sense? In a video Lacey posted on Edmodo that shows how unequal the wealth distribution in the U.S. truly is. The top 1% own 40% of all the nation’s wealth (Wealth Inequality in America). I cannot deny that in a capitalist system, we need competition and that is okay, but the problem is when the gap between the rich and the poor is exponentially high. How did this extent of inequality happen in a democracy?
Often times the wealthy argue that they should get tax cuts because they will be more inclined to create jobs and recycle their money back into the larger economy. This is called trickle down economics, and at the surface this seems to make sense. However, as you look deeper into what really happens with the money of the 1%, loopholes are found right and left. First off, because capitalism is based on profit rather than the good of the whole, wealthy corporations are creating jobs in other countries, which cost less money to produce their products. So if we are giving tax cuts to the wealthiest with the idea it is helping the majority of citizens in the U.S., this is not the case when jobs are no longer being created in our country. In a video Devin posted on Edmodo, Hilary Clinton even said, “Don’t let anybody tell you it’s corporations and businesses that create jobs. You know that old theory, ‘trickle-down economics’, that has been tried, that has failed. It has failed rather spectacularly” (OOPS - Hilary Clinton). Corporate executives, politicians, and those at the top of the “food chain” often times are saving their money as well. This doesn’t seem like it would hurt the economy, but it does. One thing the wealthy do is keeps their money in offshore accounts. This is illegal yet it still happens. This means that the money in offshore accounts is not being taxed. This is only helping the rich get richer! When the rich save their money whether that is legally or illegally, they are not putting their money back into the larger economy. Robert Reich said that the wealthiest actually need to spend much more (Kornbluth).
Democracy and capitalism don’t seem to support or work with each other. This is shown through the extensive data that shows the economic inequality in this country like in the video Lacey posted and in Inequality for All. If a true democracy actually existed in the U.S. we wouldn’t see the majority of people struggling to find jobs and put food on their tables. I actually think that capitalism is trying to fight democracy because capitalism favors individuals, or large corporations, where as democracy favors the majority of citizens in the U.S. If money controls our politics, we do not have a true democracy.
Bibliography
Hunter, Greg. "Corporate Empire Created Failed Global Economic System-John Perkins." Greg Hunters USAWatchdog. N.p., 23 June 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://usawatchdog.com/corporate-empire-created-failed-global-economic-system-john-perkins/>.
Kornbluth, Jacob, Jennifer Chaiken, Sebastian Dungan, Svetlana Cvetko, Dan Krauss, Marco D'Ambrosio, and Robert B. Reich. Inequality for All. , 2014.
"OOPS- Hillary Clinton:." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r12OhGGhOSU>.
"Wealth Inequality in America." YouTube. YouTube, 20 Nov. 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM>.
Does capitalism and democracy truly work together? Capitalism is based on individual profit and in a capitalist society the wealthiest hold the most power like corporate executives and politicians. Like I stated in the Edmodo seminar, “This desire for profit is so powerful that it allows corporations to trample the needs of society as a whole. It also allows them to accumulate much more money than the rest of society.” As John Perkins says, “It’s the corporatocracy, the heads of corporations, which control everything in the world” (Hunter). This is because at the core of capitalism is a structure that gives the most power to those with the most money. In the documentary Inequality for All, Robert Reich states, “With money comes the capacity to control politics” (Kornbluth) Therefore, this idea of capitalism as we see today doesn’t support our ideologies of democracy. Democracy is based on the majority of society, but capitalism is based on the desires of the 1%. This leaves the 99% struggling to get their voices heard and struggling to remain financially secure.
In the documentary Inequality for All, Robert Reich talks about the control corporations have over economics and politics. Lobbyists have a lot of control in being able to get there way into politics. They will support politicians financially if the politicians support them, whether that is installing laws, regulations (diminishing regulations), etc. This can become tricky because politicians owe these big corporations, which often times dismisses the needs of the majority (specifically the middle class). When the government takes away regulations for corporations they can get richer and richer. This increases the income gap. The average middle class man is taxed 33% of his income. Mitt Romney only had to pay 13% (Kornbluth). How does this make any sense? In a video Lacey posted on Edmodo that shows how unequal the wealth distribution in the U.S. truly is. The top 1% own 40% of all the nation’s wealth (Wealth Inequality in America). I cannot deny that in a capitalist system, we need competition and that is okay, but the problem is when the gap between the rich and the poor is exponentially high. How did this extent of inequality happen in a democracy?
Often times the wealthy argue that they should get tax cuts because they will be more inclined to create jobs and recycle their money back into the larger economy. This is called trickle down economics, and at the surface this seems to make sense. However, as you look deeper into what really happens with the money of the 1%, loopholes are found right and left. First off, because capitalism is based on profit rather than the good of the whole, wealthy corporations are creating jobs in other countries, which cost less money to produce their products. So if we are giving tax cuts to the wealthiest with the idea it is helping the majority of citizens in the U.S., this is not the case when jobs are no longer being created in our country. In a video Devin posted on Edmodo, Hilary Clinton even said, “Don’t let anybody tell you it’s corporations and businesses that create jobs. You know that old theory, ‘trickle-down economics’, that has been tried, that has failed. It has failed rather spectacularly” (OOPS - Hilary Clinton). Corporate executives, politicians, and those at the top of the “food chain” often times are saving their money as well. This doesn’t seem like it would hurt the economy, but it does. One thing the wealthy do is keeps their money in offshore accounts. This is illegal yet it still happens. This means that the money in offshore accounts is not being taxed. This is only helping the rich get richer! When the rich save their money whether that is legally or illegally, they are not putting their money back into the larger economy. Robert Reich said that the wealthiest actually need to spend much more (Kornbluth).
Democracy and capitalism don’t seem to support or work with each other. This is shown through the extensive data that shows the economic inequality in this country like in the video Lacey posted and in Inequality for All. If a true democracy actually existed in the U.S. we wouldn’t see the majority of people struggling to find jobs and put food on their tables. I actually think that capitalism is trying to fight democracy because capitalism favors individuals, or large corporations, where as democracy favors the majority of citizens in the U.S. If money controls our politics, we do not have a true democracy.
Bibliography
Hunter, Greg. "Corporate Empire Created Failed Global Economic System-John Perkins." Greg Hunters USAWatchdog. N.p., 23 June 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://usawatchdog.com/corporate-empire-created-failed-global-economic-system-john-perkins/>.
Kornbluth, Jacob, Jennifer Chaiken, Sebastian Dungan, Svetlana Cvetko, Dan Krauss, Marco D'Ambrosio, and Robert B. Reich. Inequality for All. , 2014.
"OOPS- Hillary Clinton:." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r12OhGGhOSU>.
"Wealth Inequality in America." YouTube. YouTube, 20 Nov. 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM>.