Capitalism: Is Money the Key to Political Power?

America’s economy is capitalistic, which means productivity and assets are privately owned and individually mandated. The government only plays a small role in the economic markets. Although America has a capitalistic economy is it still vastly unequal. Our democratic system is influence by our economic capital, those who have large amount of capital tend to have stronger influence politically. In chapter 4, it was stated that those at the top of the economic ladder are more likely to vote, contribute to political candidates/advocacy groups, and have more information available to them. Is this an issue, if so why? I would say it is a huge issue for the democratic foundations our country was built on. This system gives preferences to those as a higher socioeconomic standing, therefore their needs and wants are met above those who are trying to succeed. As we typically see families who have money tend to keep an accumulate that money for generations. With this money comes a certain lifestyle that may not be the norm of citizens in the United States. The norms and needs of these diverse groups of people cannot be represented when only the elite portion have political influence. Capitalism can also cause monopolies in markets. For example, Apple. Apple has managed to take over the technological system even though its products and their capabilities are inferior to other brands. Apple is highly demanded and produced at a high cost. The demand for products outweighs the supply therefore they are costly. They have created a brand that is virtually untouchable by others and in return create a form of monopoly on the market. Although there are certainly negative aspects of a capitalist economic it is hard to argue against some of its benefits. One, capitalist economies are very productive. Two, capitalist societies produce high income rewarding those with high skills, entrepreneurs, innovative firms, while also meeting the consumption needs. The benefits of capitalism are undeniable and for that reason I cannot argue that capitalism is inferior. While the political system does lean toward those that have money they are often time the most politically informed and capable of making logical decisions. Attached is a short youtube video which further explains how capitalism is economically and morally permissible.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJr2RO7g7jI

3 Responses to "Capitalism: Is Money the Key to Political Power?"

Kendall Crispin says:

September 26, 2017 at 1:17 pm

As you said, in a democracy people with more money do tend to have stronger influence, but they lean on sponsors and other help for that money. With the people voting tending to be more educated and rich, the poor may be underrepresented. This can be evident with the poverty line be around $22,000 for a family of 4. That is probably nothing compared to the amount of money most people at Richmond are living off for simply themselves, but the government isn’t going to fix it if their not getting attention from these poor people.

I think that capitalism is productive for many reasons. I agree with your opinion of how it rewards innovative people, and those who work hard. In addition, it allows prices to fluctuate with supply and demand allowing companies and people to prosper when something goes well. In addition, having capitalism avoids the problems of a command economy. If we didn’t have capitalism people would lack incentive to try hard and live up to their full potentials. The products would not be up to the standards that they currently are from American companies. In addition, the government has a lot do with their time. Coordinating a non-capitalistic economy is a lot of work. They should spend their time elsewhere, because the market system is working for the most part.

I found the point about monopolies interesting, because although Apple has Samsung as a competitor, it does have a high demand, and prices keep increasing drastically. But, America has a law about monopolies. This antitrust law says that monopolies aren’t allowed. I wonder if eventually, the government will end up doing something to lower the prices of Samsung and Apple.

In response to the video, I agree with him. The market systems forces people to be cooperative, something that all of us could learn. In addition, the give and take of the market system allows there to be a win-win relationship! Why would people not want the chance to prosper and get rewarded for their work? I know poor people may need to work lower-end jobs, but at the end of the day, a paycheck feels good and is a positive reinforcer for a job well done. Capitalism also forces people to create the best product, or else it will go out of business. Finally, when the government gets involved with price floors and ceilings, something always goes wrong. There are usually surpluses or shortages, and things can go to waste. Capitalism is good for the American economy, and I don’t think the government should get involved with economics.
Omar Ibrahim says:

September 26, 2017 at 10:21 pm

You mention the “system” giving preference to those who are higher up in the socio-economic scale. I think that it is a good point and we should delve a little deeper into that. In class we spoke discussed the low percentage of the electorate that is made up lower income citizens. According to the Center of American Progress “46% percent of nonvoters have family incomes less than $30,000 per year.” There are a list of compiling factors that add on to this as well. Lower income citizens tend to live in the worst parts of their cities or counties. These parts of the cities or counties tend to have worse schooling systems and not as many opportunities. The lack of education and community involvement infringe on the probabilities of citizens to grow as political beings in our society.
This ties into your statement that the government shouldn’t get involved in economics which is fair since we have a free market. However, the government should be involved in trying to make it as accessible as possible to everyone. This begins by government working on things such as anti-gentrification plans, gerrymandering, funding of public schools, financial aid, and so on. Once opportunities are created equal from the beginning the diversification will begin to take place on the political spectrum.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2014/11/06/100627/why-young-minority-and-low-income-citizens-dont-vote/
Lauren Toth says:

September 28, 2017 at 1:07 pm

As stated in this article, the more wealthy individuals are more likely to vote. Can we only attribute this to the fact they have money, when in reality everyone has the ability to vote. You do not need to pay to cast your vote in the pools. As Americans, we have a right to free and fair elections. The united states is ranked 129 out of 169 for voter participation. Some people believe people don’t show up to vote because they are not informed about politics.The information that some voters believe they need is available to all. Even if you are poor and do not have access to the internet at home, there are plenty of places to go such a library for free internet access. Everyone has the ability to learn the information.

In regard to the wealthy having the political power, it is a true and untrue statement. People with money are able to lobby political leaders to help advance policies and procedures that will benefit them. This comes from both sides of parties. However, as our country is based on, we all have political equality. No matter how much money you donate to a campaign or lobby for a cause, in the end everyone only gets one vote. You can’t directly buy votes. You are able to try and convince others to vote in your favor by lobbying but you still only get one vote.

To tie this back to my first statement that everyone has availability of knowledge, the wealthy are seen as more educated to make decisions. However, that doesn’t mean they are the optimal decisions or even the right decisions. Whether you are wealthy or poor, you make a decision based on the information you know. In this day of age, everyone has access to this information. Back when the constitution was written, a poor man could not google, “what does John Locke mean by social contract”. Whereas today everyone has that access to research their options and form an educated opinion based on what they believe. In conclusion, money can influence politics, but in the end everyone gets one vote and today everyone has access to information to make an informed decision.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/49701718/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/why-percent-americans-wont-vote/#.Wc0rboWcHE0

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