Democracy vs Capitalism

“Democracy is based on the equality of rights and privileges maintained and supplied by state power, while capitalism is based on the unequal distribution of property and assets and on the state-guaranteed freedom of everyone to use his/her assets and property as he/she pleases within the prescription of the law” (Terreblanche).

- “And hence society faces a trade-off between equality and efficiency” (Okun).

I think this is a pretty strong argument criticizing the "foundation" of essentially all western nations.... what do you guys think? Would you guys agree with the statement that in the USA capitalism "overshadows" democracy?

 

Considering the fact that money is everything anymore, I'll say yes.

It's an interesting idea.
Sure, we need our freedoms to do what we wish with what we have, but I also feel that we have an obligation to look out for one another to make everyone's situation better.

I don't think capitalism will ever be removed completely, but that's not the outcome I'm looking for. What I think this world needs is capitalism with a social and moral conscience to do the right thing, but alas it's still all about the bottom line.

 

Well, the U.S. is a republic. So capitalism wins.

 

You can have Democracy under Socialism

Capitalism = an economic system
Democracy = a political system

Just as we have seperation of church and state, there can be
but not nessisaraly must be seperation between the economic system and the political system.

In fact, I see a lot of what is wrong in AMERICA today as the result of mixing the economic and political. Far too many people have high level Government jobs and also ties to BIG BUSINESS, Daddy Big Bux, Greed inc!
The Military Industrial Complex!

Since the death of JFK, we have had a succession of BAD presidents from
"emperor Lyndon" on we have seen fundementaly unscroupulus So-Called leaders who in fact have been eroding the CONSTITUTION and all of the protections that where intended to safeguard the environment and workers rights. The CEOs of major coporations at the end of WWII made aprox 100 times the pay of the lowest paid worker in that industry. NOW CEOs make THOUSANDS of times what the lowest paid worker (within the U.S.A.) if you count businesses that exploit foreign labor, they are making so much more even!

The erosion of the will of the people as a force in politics has contributed to the rise of a new elite. Rich and powerful people who do NOT have to obey the rule of law. Note the "hunting accedent" that Dick Cheney had, Who but a member of the elite gets to put off meeting with local law enforcement, and chooses to meet with the LAW when its convenient?

AMERICA is in deep do-do kiddies!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
and as we all know
9/11 was an inside job!
.

 

We agree -- for different reasons -- but agree nonetheless. Let the market take care of itself. We saw what happened in Japan when government tried to fix the market.

 

Of course capitalism is the bigger player. We merely have a representative democracy.

 

currently, capitalism dominates the world and hence america

 

Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.

The US is not, and never has been, a democracy. Capitalism is the free market. Any system that interferes with an individual's right to earn a living to a degree more than required to protect others against fraud or abuse is inherently tyranical to one degree or another.

 

This is completely and totally false. The world is currently dominated by collectivism, not capitalism.

The United States is a reflection of this:

http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/wua11.shtml

 

That is absolutely correct:

Surprisingly, one of the most thorough definitions of Democracy and Republic I've seen is from the 1928 U.S. Army training manual:

"Democracy: A government of the masses. Authority derived through mass meeting or any other form of ‘direct’ expression. Results in mobocracy. Attitude toward property is communistic – negating property rights. Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, whether it be based upon deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. Results in demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy."

"Republic: Authority is derived through the election by the people of public officials best fitted to represent them. Attitude toward property is respect for laws and individual rights, and a sensible economic procedure. Attitude toward law is the administration of justice in accord with fixed principles and established evidence, with a strict regard to consequences. Avoids the dangerous extreme of either tyranny or mobocracy. Results in statesmanship, liberty, reason, justice, contentment, and progress."

The following is an editorial note by Harry Atwood in the manual: "A republic is a form of government under a constitution which provides for the election of (1) an executive and (2) a legislative body, who working together in a representative capacity, have all the power of appointment, all power of legislation, all power to raise revenue and appropriate expenditures, and are required to create (3) a judiciary to pass upon the justice and legality of their governmental acts and to recognize (4) certain inherent individual rights.

Take away any one or more of those four elements and you are drifting into autocracy. Add one or more to those four elements and you are drifting into democracy.

Autocracy declares the divine right of kings; its authority can not be questioned; its powers are arbitrarily or unjustly administered.

Democracy is the ‘direct’ rule of the people and has been repeatedly tried without success.

Our Constitutional fathers, familiar with the strength and weakness of both autocracy and democracy, with fixed principles definitely in mind, defined a representative republican form of government. They made a very marked distinction between a republic and a democracy, and said repeatedly and emphatically that they had founded a republic.”