Thursday, February 14, 2008

Lab 29: Is the US a democracy or plutocracy?

The US calls itself a democracy and by the definition I believe we are for the most part. Majority rule, people calling the shots for the most part, more factors of a democracy fit the US than not, however, I believe that we are slowly becoming more and more plutocratic in that the majority of the people calling the shots are those that are more wealthy, and that a lot of what happens in this country is made possible by large corporations. In some ways we are dependent on wealthy and large businesses and in others they control us and in that sense we move closer and closer to plutocracy as a country. As of now though I would still argue that the US is still a democratic country and it is in our hands to keep it that way.

- Josh

1 comment:

Colin, Christian, Zoƫ, and Orin said...

I agree! We should protect our democracy. But unfortunately I believe we are already a plutocracy. Mike Gravel had no money for his campaign, compared to the other Democratic candidates. Therefore he couldn't afford tv commercials, etc. And as we all know... he lost badly. No matter his political message, his strategies, his healthcare plan, foreign policy... No Money= No Presidency
It's impossible to name any "poor" politician who won an election.
And all the lobbying that goes down on capitol hill...

I would say we are most definitely already a plutocracy.