"Ruling Class Democracy"
By Max Kantar
13 April, 2007
Countercurrents.orgSadly, modern day democracy has become a catch phrase to represent a system that is frighteningly undemocratic at its very core.
Parliamentary governments, or so called political democracies are but an allusion of true democracy and equality. Voting rights in first world 'post industrial' nations are a pawn of the people as the political 'representatives' are often unwilling or unable to make any real changes that favor the majority. They are instead, completely at the service of big businesses and essentially a puppet for the wealthy and elite. Voting for political representatives makes the people in America feel as though they have control over the political spectrum that governs their very lives, while in reality, American voters can choose to elect one of two parties that both, at the end of the day, spit on their constituents and sell their souls to multinational corporate interests and worthless policies to secure votes in the future and perpetuate elitist solidarity.
In many less developed or so called third world countries, citizens can vote freely to elect whom ever they like, sadly with no avail to their bleak situations and their country's economy that is driven by (inflicted) perpetual debt. Not to mention that their economy, even if nationalized, will be severely undermined by the global market demands that stem from the
economic imperialist nations that govern trade and production worldwide.In a truly democratic setting, elected representatives would be subject to instant recall by the popular masses if these officials ceased to represent the people. The economy would no longer be driven by profit and greed, but rather by equity and need. The corporations that control over ninety percent of our economy would be publicly owned as the workers would finally have an even and fair stake in what they produced while the public would reap healthcare, full education, and housing rights from the business sector they would collectively share.
Capitalism has mastered the art of efficient production and has miserably failed to allocate the basic human necessities to the majority of the earth's population at the same time. Capitalism has produced unfathomable advances in technology while billions of people all over the world live on less than $1 a day whilst a tiny minority reap billions of dollars annually derived from the exploitation of the masses. Instead of putting technological advances toward good, western 'democracies' use it to cage and dehumanize people for violating so called 'drug' laws and writing bad checks.
People all over the world, the poor, the working classes, the disenfranchised, the refugees, black, brown, beige and white need realize that the power ultimately rest in our hands. Political and economic institutions are supposed to represent and serve the needs of the people, not exploit them. As these powers that be have undoubtedly failed us, we the vast majority, must exercise our own overwhelming influence and dissent to achieve the authentic democracy that is so sorely needed.
It's not too late.
Max Kantar is an undergraduate of Sociology at Ferris State University. He can be contacted at [email protected]
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