The New American Plutocracy

by Paul Kurtz

The following article is from Free Inquiry magazine, Volume 20, Number 4.
Plutocracy: (1) government by the wealthy, (2) a controlling class of the wealthy. From the Greek ploutokratia, from ploutos, wealth, and kratia, advocate of a form of government.
I am deeply troubled by the fact that in the upcoming presidential and congressional elections there is little or no debate on what I consider to be a central issue for the American future: the emergence of a new and powerful plutocracy wedded to corporate power. Regrettably, none of the major candidates will deign to even discuss this vital question. Only Ralph Nader has identified it. But he has largely been ignored or parodied by the mass media. Typically, Paul Krugman, op-ed columnist for the New York Times, has ridiculed Nader precisely for his attacks on "corporate power." Senator John McCain did raise the issue of the special interests and soft money corrupting the political process. But he has been rebuffed and has climbed into the same bed with Bush. Many do not consider Nader to be a viable candidate, for the Green Party does not represent an effective political coalition. Neither Free Inquiry nor the Council for Secular Humanism can endorse political candidates, but this should not preclude me from presenting my own personal views about the deeper humanist issues at stake.
A plutocracy is defined as "government by the wealthy." The critical question that should concern us is whether the United States is already a plutocracy, and what can be done to limit its power. This question, unfortunately, will not be taken seriously by most voters-but it damned well ought to be.
Ancient Greek democracy lasted only a century; the Roman republic survived for four, though it was increasingly weakened as time went on. As America enters its third century we may well ask whether our democratic institutions will survive and if so in what form.
As readers of these pages know, I have been concerned by the virtually unchallenged growth of corporate power. Mergers and acquisitions continue at a dizzying pace, as small and mid-sized businesses and farms disappear; independent doctors, lawyers, and accountants are gobbled up by larger firms; and working men and women are at the mercy of huge global conglomerates, which downsize as they export jobs overseas.
I have also deplored the emergence of the global media-ocracy, whereby a handful of powerful media conglomerates virtually dominate the means of communication. A functioning democratic society depends upon a free exchange of ideas; today fewer dissenting views are heard in the public square, as diversity is narrowed or muffled.
Most recently the Tribune Company, publisher of the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers and radio and television companies, bought the Times-Mirror, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, etc.; the Gannett chain purchased Central Newspapers, publishers of the Indianapolis Star, the Arizona Republic, and other newspapers. News Corporation (Rupert Murdoch) has announced its intention to take over Chris- Craft's extensive television holdings. And Viacom has offered to buy out the remaining stock it doesn't own in the giant radio network, Infinity Broadcasting. Although Clinton's Justice Department has been attempting to stem the merger juggernaut by questioning a limited number of acquisitions, this may be viewed as mere window dressing, as too little and too late.
This trend toward the concentration of ownership should be of special concern to secular humanists and rationalists. The regnant corporate outlook increasingly espouses a spiritual/religious/supernatural mystique, and it seeks to marginalize iconoclastic viewpoints. Unfortunately for secular humanists, pro ecclesia et commercia (for church and commerce) has become the ideology not only of the Religious Right, but is being marketed daily to consumers in the mainstream.
Corporate Control

Corporate domination of the democratic process by means of campaign contributions blocks the emergence of independent voices willing to defend the public interest. Lobbyists subvert the integrity of the Congress and of state legislatures throughout the land by buying influences and votes. Big oil, media, pharmaceutical, tobacco, gambling, insurance, and financial companies thus dominate the legislative process. For example, the banks and credit card companies charge usurious rates and use deceptive marketing practices, fleecing millions of unwary consumers and forcing them into bankruptcy, yet effective legislation to protect consumers was blocked in Congress by the banking industry. Surreptitiously, large companies are now reducing retirement benefits with nary any political opposition. Corporations today-such as General Electric and Exxon-Mobil-are earning huge profits.
Some may say that my appraisal is too pessimistic, for stock ownership is widely distributed, and that corporate efficiency contributes to the current American prosperity. Granted, we do not wish to undermine our economic prosperity, but much of this is also due to new scientific and technological discoveries and to an educated labor force, not simply corporate oligopolies.
We need to ask the questions: should corporations be the primary arbiters of the public will, and should "market forces" alone determine the conditions of social justice? Unfortunately, a relatively small number of corporate managers and stockholders of the new plutocracy control the corporate state, and it is the incestuous relationship between corporate economic power and politics that is most disturbing. For example, Dick Cheney departed from Haliburton, the large oil exploratory company, according to the New York Times, with a $20 million package of stock options and other benefits. Today a corporate-military plutocracy rules virtually unchallenged, manipulating and manufacturing the news and safeguarding its position of power.

The New American Plutocracy

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Life is good, the water is sweet. The ground keeps moving beneath my feet.

I wonder, is it me that you all so despise that you fail to read my posts, please take the time to learn who is running this country. to be informed is golden.

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Life is good, the water is sweet. The ground keeps moving beneath my feet.

Why comment? Its just more statist, anti-establishment bullshit. I don't want to wait in line for toilet paper, cooking oil and shoes, Med. If you don't want business and the free market determining supply and demand, who? Central planning has been a proven disaster every place and every time its been tried.

Vi

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Liberals are people that will believe anything twice.

The bankers run everything...
"Let me control the printing of currency and I care not who writes the laws."
Tell me who said it, why and when...then research that banking system for a bit...then you can ask who controls everything.

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This article refers to the Clinton Administration in the present tense. You could cut and paste a timely article at the very least. Maybe that's why no one reads your posts. I'm much more interested in your opinion rather than somebody else's.

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Screw organized crime. Grow yer own damn weed!



Don't Talk to Police

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Med, why you r in such denial state? By all mean the truth is hard to listen dont mean to be a conspiracy but there are just a lot of thing that need to be question why dont you pause for a second and ask urself these question who is this country really in debt to who is really makes the different? why is it that the media try their best to mute out a lot of truth about the War? why is it that the Gov try to put all of the people who speaks the truth in silent? and why is it a lot of people risk their own life to speaks the truth?
As you say follow the money trails go and research on who is really the Money Master? who is really behind all of this mess about our money lost it value from the Gold standard to paper so they can be print so much out of thin air?
By all mean Med. just give yourself a chance so u can see the truth....

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