Beyond Plutocracy - True Democracy for America (ePub)

Capitalism, the market economy, is our best form of economic relationship. But capitalism has a very deep flaw. It tends toward monopoly. It concentrates excessive power, wealth and advantage into the hands of all too often ruthless, greedy elites who exploit the rest of the populace, corrupt our government and override the common good.

Capitalism is redeemable. A sound, balanced, equitable market economy can be achieved by the wise management of an honest government. But we don't have an honest government that truly includes and represents the entire electorate.

Our government's principal dishonesty is its electoral system. Elections are left to a marketplace, mass media, two political parties and state electoral district systems that are mostly owned, operated and dominated by the wealthy. Elections, offices and the favors of our government are bought and sold just like any other commodity. The result is that wealthy and wealth-serving elites hold a permanent hegemony of seats, offices and power in our government and we get stuck with the best government that money can buy.

Direct democracy—in which the electorate votes directly on issues—is the correct way to overcome the tyranny of plutocracy. But as the phrases "the tyranny of democracy" and "the rule of the mob" suggest, democracy also has some profound problems and can become a tyranny in its own way.

It is by adding to our government (or to any government) just the right kind and amount of direct democracy that its representative branches are rendered truly representative of the entire electorate; the tyranny of plutocracy is overcome; the democracy itself does not become a tyranny; and the responsible personal freedom of the individual is maximized in a just, equitable society.

Our government will never become OUR government, the government of "we the people," all of the people, until we add to it an honest electoral system and true democracy. That is exactly what is achieved in this book. The result is the honest government, equitable market economy and good society we all seek.