American Affairs

» pink101 - Corpracratic Society?

A Taste of Reality
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I think it's time for a taste of reality regarding the story line being put out in the Republican pitch for privatization.
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Here we are in our national society that is made up of over three hundred million people. We are given the impression that capitalism and democracy are twin brothers of our freedom. But, nothing could be further from the truth.
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I think we must come to grips with what it means to be a democracy.
American was founded on the specific principles that We The People are at the roots of our society. Our society was founded for our purposes as a people based on our U.S. Constitution and its accompanying Bill of Rights. Our of that Constitution, we have developed our present status; but, that doesn't mean what are has come to be a static organization. Instead, it means that we are free to continually seek to improve the state of our society.
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A democracy is a government ruled by its citizens. And, our Constitution defines who the citizens are and how we have our right to govern. It provides that we elect persons to office as our representatives in our government. So, we are a democratic republic. We The People have the right to designate how those representatives shall rule on our behalf and we do it through our democratic elections. Our policies are based on the public's trust that our representatives will do our bidding in a transparent way in full view of our scrutiny.
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But, such is not always or-it seems-even often the truth of the matter. Most people realize that our Constitution not only allows for but supports their right to organize in groups that, subsequently, can represent them to our representatives. Thus, a group of people with a desire to develop a governmental policy to benefit their special interests can organize and present itself to our representatives for action on their behalf. Money having been declared a form of "free speech", governmental representatives are authorized to accept contributions on behalf of the various special interest groups that approach them for political favors. Our democracy, being built on the trust of We The People, is only as good as how our representatives are willing and able to stay true to their oath of office.
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Theoretically, there is nothing wrong with the idea of special interest groups and the fact that they approach our representatives for political favor. And, it is through this process that we have come to believe in the value of capitalism over any other form of economics. .
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So, what is capitalism?
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Capitalism is a form of economic organization in which money is used as a resource for producing financial profit-theoretically, there is nothing wrong with that idea either. Any of us, as individuals, are able to combine our capital with that of others to create an organization capable of producing a profit. In the past, our predecessors have approached our representatives in government on behalf of their special interests to create laws and rules of law which allow us to form corporations. Over time, these organizations have come to be seen by law as legal individuals with certain rights and responsibilities.
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The idea of financial investments and the idea of financial profits.
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In order for any individual to be a party to a corporation, they must make some investment, they must own some stock in the company. And their right to have any say in the way the organization is run is controlled by the percentage of the overall stock that they individually own. The same is true of any profits the corporation might realize in its operations. This, pretty much, explains how capitalism works in the distribution of assets and liabilities.
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Something quite similar is involved in the idea of our national society with the major exception that a citizen does not have to make a investment in our nation to have any say in the way our society is run. Every citizen has a vote in our society once they reach the age of eighteen. No single citizen can have more of a say in the way our society is run than any other single citizen.
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In a very real way, our society is quite a bit like a corporation in that it can be run for the benefit of its stock holders. Every citizen has a single share in our society. And, we can run our society for our benefit.
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A major difference between capital corporations and our society has to do with where the money comes from in order to run things. Corporations issue and sell stock in order to raise funds; whereas our society levies taxes in order to raise funds for its activities. Where a corporation claims its surpluses over costs to be profits, our society claims its profits to be surpluses.
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Here is an area where we see how terminology has come to influence our public thinking regarding such concepts as surplus, profit, cost, investment, and taxation. Profit is seen as good, surplus is seen as excess, investment as wise, cost as a necessity, and taxation as an evil. But, what is the difference between a margin of profit and a tax if it isn't in what party is behind it.
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What is the difference if Corporation A sells its product at a rate of 400% of its cost or if our government provides its services at a rate of 400% of its cost?

-- posted by pink101