America- Democracy or Plutocracy? The United States

America- Democracy or Plutocracy?

The United States of America is often hailed as the first and greatest modern democracy in the world. Most Americans believe that the United States is the example the rest of the world should emulate, and that it offers its citizens the power to make decisions through its free and fair elections. Yet at the same time, others say that the United States of America has ceased to be a democracy and instead become a plutocracy. A plutocracy is a state that is ruled by the wealthiest people, rather than by free and fair elections in which all citizens have an equal voice. Recent political developments have caused fear from those who believe the United States is moving toward plutocracy, but at the same time, other equally important developments have shown that it remains, at least for the time being, a democracy.

Although the United States has a long history as a democracy and has been an inspiration to other democratic nations through the world, it cannot be said that America has always been entirely fair or entirely democratic. Like all countries, it has changed since its founding. In many ways the changes have helped to spread democracy, such as by giving women and minorities the right to vote, which they did not have when the constitution was written. Political pressure and citizen power brought about the rise of workers' unions to protect workers from wealthy businessmen, and the government protects citizens from monopolies and other types of entity that could otherwise overpower individuals and their rights.

At the same time, the United States has allowed wealth to accumulate in the hands of a few citizens, while the majority of the population remains substantially poorer. Interviewed in March of 2011, American billionaire Warren Buffet stated that "we have moved in my lifetime toward plutocracy." (Rolnik). He also pointed out that between 1992 and 2010, the richest people in the United States raised their average annual income from $45 million to $340 million, while at the same time, their tax burden decreased from 28% to 16.6% (Rolnik). While all societies have members who are more successful or more wealthy than others, it is alarming that the richest Americans have become massively richer in less than two decades. While wealth doesn't always equal power, money can usually buy more influence than poverty can.

On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling that many people have claimed is a terrible blow to democracy when they determined that corporations and other entities have the same right to free speech as individual citizens. Their ruling meant that corporations and other entities could thus donate as much money as they wanted to politicians, political campaigns, or political causes (Tremblay). Thus, businesses, banks, labor unions, and other entities which each control much more money than most individuals, can use their money to fund political candidates and causes they approve of. Many believe that this can, in effect, allow businesses and other entities to buy elections by funding candidates who will be grateful to them and vote as they wish in hopes of being reelected using the entity's money. In other words, the ruling would allow those who control wealthy corporations to fund politics, thus gaining power due to their wealth, since, as the New York Times warned, "If a member of Congress tries to stand up to a wealthy special interest, its lobbyists can credibly threaten: We'll spend whatever it takes to defeat you." ("The Court's Blow to Democracy.") This situation seems very close to the definition of a plutocracy, wherein the wealthy control the political system and the laws of their country.