Fractured America
The events of January 6th brought the realization that half the people in the country don’t believe in or want democracy. They are willing to throw majority rule away to armed mobs. I wonder if these people know what the consequences of their actions will do to the country? Perhaps their belief in democracy dissolved many years ago.
The line drawn between political and economic systems is blurry. Fifty years ago, an economics professor at Boston University lectured that the United States was headed towards a fascist rule. He said that as corporations become more powerful, capitalism will give way to a dictatorship benefiting business, industry, and the wealthy. I fear his prediction rings true.
With varying ways to organize an economy, we put capitalism together with democracy and have Fascism and dictatorship lurking in its right-wing. The Netherlands chose Socialism and democracy with Communism and dictatorship as its left-wing. I ask myself what the right combination is for a country of our size and cultural complexity?
Economic Systems
- Socialism advocates ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, capital, and land in the hands of the community. It is under a centralized government that is usually democratic but sometimes autocratic. In its purest form, the system is meant to empower the working class with services provided by the government and paid for by taxes.
1a) Communism, the left-wing movement within socialism favors a classless society based on property held in common. Ownership may be ascribed to the community as a whole or the state. A command economy is when the state controls planning and redistributing resources. In communist nations like North Korea, the state owns and operates industry on behalf of the people. There are capitalist countries that allow communes to operate within their borders. An Israeli kibbutz and a communal housing unit are examples of groups that share ownership make operational decisions.
2) In a market economic system like capitalism, private individuals own and control property in accord with self-centered interests. Proponents say that the interest of society is best served by having free-markets set prices. Capitalism’s essential feature, to make a profit, over time concentrates wealth and promotes the growth of large corporations causing economic inequality. Increased government action and control are needed to bring the economy in balance.
2a) Fascism, a right-wing movement within capitalism, is led by powerful dictators who forcibly suppressed opposition and criticism. It is a command economy with centralized power. The leader’s regime sets all parameters for industry and commerce, often emphasizing aggressive nationalism and racism. Hitler’s Germany, Mussolini’s Italy, and Franco’s Spain are well-known examples. Parents also run fascist households, especially when their children are young. They tell them when to come home, what to eat, and when to go to bed. These authoritarian, hierarchical governments may last well into the child’s teen years. The federal government expects parents to be benevolent dictators acting in the best interest of their children.
3) Traditional economic systems are the most ancient types of economies. They tend to be in rural, second, or third-world countries closely tied to the land. The barter system, where goods and services are traded, was prevalent in primitive societies. It is, making a comeback in the United States as it tends to do in times of economic hardship. A barter is when two or more parties, individuals, businesses, or nations, make an even exchange without using money. You can exchange a piece of art for braces as my husband did when our son was in his teens.
Political systems
Capitalist and Socialist countries tend towards democratic political systems. Fascist and Communist countries tend to be ruled by dictators. The advantage of a command economy by dictators, in theory, is that the government can develop a healthy supply of resources, create jobs, reward people with affordable prices, and move quickly. In reality, that doesn’t tend to happen for most dictators t focus on acquiring wealth through their most valuable resources like oil.
1) In true democracies, leaders are chosen by citizen voters who retain ultimate power. Towns do still exist within the U.S. giving all adult citizens a voting voice on governing issues. For instance, New England Town meetings are public forums that enable residents to share opinions, deliberate, and vote on public issues. Larger municipalities typically have elected representatives instead of direct participation. Of the few places in the world operating by consensus, Guernsey in the Channel Islands is one. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) operates by consensus rule as well.
2) Dictatorships give one individual an absolute right to govern as he or she sees fit. Hitler is an example of an elected official who took control to remain in imperious, overbearing power for years. Today, monarchies like the one in England are primarily ceremonial. Countries where the monarch still maintains absolute power are found in Saudi Arabia, Vatican City, and Brunei, among others. The United Arab Emirates is a federation of individual monarchies.
3) Authoritarian capitalism, is a capitalist market economy with an authoritarian government. Examples include Hungary under Viktor Orban, Russian under Vladimir Putin, Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew, Augusto Pinochet in Chile, and Batista in Cuba. China also operates a free market economy within an authoritarian regime. Communist revolutions, like the one in Cuba, often come about because capitalist dictators swing the pendulum too far to the right. Regulations, government contracts, and protectionist policies around business, at first increase the dictator’s influence. Eventually, citizens become tired of the self-centered system and demand accountability.
The United States has not been a true democracy run by majority rule for a long time. It is guided by a small number of financial, political, and corporate elites. Voting is corrupted by gerrymandered districts and an electoral college as an intermediary to direct voting. A better description of our country’s political system is to define it as a capitalist dictatorship with powerful businesses pulling the purse strings.
Is this what you want?
Reference:(2021)
Ruthenberg, J. Letter: Democracy or Capitalist Dictatorship. Times Union. retrieved from https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Letter-a-capitalist-dictatorship-16246400.php
Agarwal, P. (2021) Economic System. Intelligent Economist. retrieved from https://www.intelligenteconomist.com/economic-systems/
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Fractured America is a 24” x 24”, acrylic on deep canvas painting. Available: $425.
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