As I continue researching the intersection of capitalism and Democracy in the U.S., I had the following thought: that most likely, capitalism will survive Democracy in the U.S. and abroad.
I need to begin with a disclaimer: I am pro-capitalism. As I have said before, the particular brand of capitalism currently in practice in the U.S. (and in most Western Democracies) is, I believe, destructive; however, capitalism can be modified and refined to better serve the interests of the U.S., and theoretically, people worldwide. But first, I think it is important to view capitalism in a new context, before we as a society can seek appropriate resolution to the issues presented.
Capitalism, like Democracy, is a global phenomenon; however, capitalism is far more widespread. The reason for this is obvious; capitalism can exist in a variety of systems of government, democratic or not. Capitalism, in its current form, can thrive in a communist leaning country like China, or in a democratic leaning country like the U.S. Capitalism can survive in a monarchy or a military dictatorship. There are many individual rights one can imagine having forcefully removed, while still having the “freedom” to purchase a Coca-Cola product.
Capitalism pledges no national allegiances, no borders, no boundaries. Large corporations are global and free to move about and exist wherever it is most beneficial to the entity. Shareholders can live anywhere, as large institutional buyers can repackage foreign securities to trade on domestic exchanges. Once wealth from a large corporation such as Walmart or Amazon is concentrated at the top and amongst the largest shareholders, it is free to move about globally (as is common practice) to avoid taxation or redistribution amongst citizens of a country.
Of course, Capitalism is simply a blind mechanism, an unconscious tool, for organizing an economy. It does not make sense to cast the responsibility of caring for a nation’s citizens (and their well-being) to an unconscious mechanism for wealth creation / value assignment. That is one of the primary purposes for which we created government to begin with.
So here is the dilemma, as I see it. Capitalism in its current form redistributed wealth in a way that concentrated trillions of dollars in the hands of very few. The beneficiaries of this wealth are free to move the wealth anywhere across the globe to preserve as much control over that wealth as possible. The citizens of a country who are adversely affected by these decisions have no say and no vote in these actions, made by board members beholden to shareholders. The concentration of wealth in the hands of a few dilutes the power of the individual citizens votes. Without actively pursuing ways to mitigate these effects, capitalism will continue to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few, with no national allegiances or commitments to any particular citizens of a country.