The democratic argument:
The concentration of wealth in a small group allows for
anti-democratic influence of social policy. The wealthy have the ability
to create their own "think tanks" and astro-turf front organizations. These
are then used to create the perception that the public is in support of
their self-serving objectives. Recent studies have shown how these techniques
were used in the repeal of the estate tax debate as well as in the rise of
new factions opposing the liberal social policies of the Episcopal church. When
such vast amounts of money are under the control of a tiny group the basic
mechanisms of democracy are undermined
Group items matching
in title, tags, annotations or urlWealth Distribution - 0 views
-
-
When the wealth of a society gets sufficiently unbalanced it ceases to valuable since there are no people with the resources to purchase it. During the French revolution most of the furniture in the estates was looted and much of it was used for firewood. It had no value in a peasant's home. It didn't fit, wasn't practical, and the decorative detail was useless.
-
So any plan that is going to shift the balance of wealth has to deal with issues of extracting real value from the accumulations of the wealthy without causing a drop in the marketability of the assets.
- ...4 more annotations...
capitalism Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about capitalism - 0 views
-
Yet capitalism cannot function if violence is too great or if it is continuous.
-
There must be substantial pauses between wars and revolutions. Government must be able to prevent mob violence. The typical entrepreneur of early capitalism, unlike the feudal lord, was unwarlike by temperament and motivated by the search for profit. Bourgeois civilization, compared with the forms of social organization that preceded it or with the totalitarian forms that now compete with it, has remained inherently peaceable, rationalistic, and materialistic.
-
The enforcement of commercial contracts by the state and the extension and protection of property rights—all essential to the development of capitalism—required a strong government. The process of saving, investment, risk-taking, and profit-making flourished best, however, when the powers of the state were restricted so that their exercise would not be arbitrary
- ...3 more annotations...
1 - 4 of 4
Showing 20▼ items per page