Plutocracy or Democracy?

It is fact that in many – if not all ‑ countries of the world, the dominant political discourse consists of ideas put forth by the ruling class. This discourse led Karl Marx to argue that in any society, those in charge have the power to propagandise their world-view. The term plutocracy is generally defined as the government by the wealthy and for the wealthy, and is usually used to refer to the rich who control the government ‑ often from behind the scenes. President Abraham Lincoln's that democracy “is a government of the people, by the people, for the people” remains utopian, as a global plutocracy now replaces it. If you believe the US is a democracy, if you believe in the rule of the many and not the rule of the wealthy few, then you will be in for some serious disappointment when you realise that the American model is not designed for the development and upliftment of the majority.

Marx never visited the United States, but nevertheless understood the country, because he understood capitalism. It has become common knowledge that there is no American ideology that is mightier than capitalism. Political scientist Michael Parenti comments; “American capitalism reflects more than just an economic system, it is an entire social and cultural order, a plutocracy, a system that is mostly by and for the rich.”

Equality, justice and the rule of law are all nice, but money speaks the language that all nations and people understand. If you have a lot of money and own a lot of property, then you have the power to propagandise your world-view. It is done to protect and promote your own interests and is the natural progression in the process of accumulation of wealth and exercise of power. As such, any talk of “democracy”, “rule of law” and “human rights” is packaged to promote and protect the interests of the wealthy in their exercise of power. According to EJ Dionne, a columnist in the Washington Post, “Capitalism works for the wealthiest and most powerful in the country, especially if they want to shroud their efforts to influence politics. “It just doesn’t happen to work if you think we are a democracy and not a plutocracy.” There is no way that the US can be interested in genuine democracy because that would fly in the face of the plutocracy they have worked so hard to achieve over the centuries.

In a genuine democracy, the people of any nation freely enjoy the resources that within their borders. Wars are not fomented to get their oil, gold and diamonds from them and they have the right to determine how exactly they use their resources, who they sell them to and what they buy from other countries in return. They are not forced to have particular leaders who are acceptable only to the West and they determine in which direction their leaders should lead them.

Sadly, true democracy is still very far away from visiting this world. Africans peoples must gird their loins and be ready to fight for it.

Extracted from here