Democracy Contra Representation
Or, How Capitalism is Antithetical to Democracy: A Case Study in Canada
The greatest illusion in the West is democracy. This thesis alone is enough to alert the fight or flight reflexes of many who may stumble across this article — and such reflexes are themselves symptoms of how pathological this illusion is. The endeavor of criticizing democracy is to arouse suspicion of authoritarianism, though critique merely lies at the center of an axis which contains “blind acceptance” on one end and “rejection” on the other; as a pathology, however, any deviance away from blind acceptance is perceived as rejection. It is this illusion-pathology which, in part, enables the preservation of our democratic shortcomings — shortcomings which are deeply rooted in capitalism.
The logical conclusion of any political democracy which exists in the midst of capitalism is corporate oligarchy, or state-monopoly capitalism. The power of one’s voice is proportional to their capital; thus, the will of a corporate body is worth the collective will of millions within the working class. It is the corporation which has the capital necessary to fund campaigns, and well-funded campaigns correlate with votes. As the Communist Party of Canada eloquently puts it,
Finance capital subordinates the Canadian State more and more directly to its interests and control. State-monopoly capitalism — the integration or merging of the interests of finance capital with the state — is a new stage in the extension of corporate control to all sectors of economic and political life. The government, while seemingly independent of specific corporate interests, has become predominantly the political instrument of a small group comprising the top monopoly capitalists for exercising control over the rest of society. Finance capital uses the state to provide orders, capital and subsidies, and to secure foreign markets and investments. Monopoly capital supports the expansion of the state sector — both services and enterprises — when that serves its interests, and at other times it uses the state to cut back and privatize. […] State-monopoly capitalism undermines the basis of traditional bourgeois democracy. The subordination of the state to the interests of finance capital erodes the already limited role of elected government bodies, federal, provincial and local. Big business openly intervenes in the electoral process on its own behalf, and also indirectly through a network of pro-corporate institutes and think tanks. It uses its control of mass media to influence the ideas and attitudes of the people, and to blatantly influence election results. It corrupts the democratic process through the buying of politicians and officials. It tramples on the political right of the Canadian people to exercise any meaningful choice, thereby promoting widespread public alienation and cynicism about the electoral process.
This is so evident today, that to be unaware of it may in fact constitute an act of willful ignorance. Recently, when the New Democratic Party (NDP) put forth a proposal for a wealth tax of 1% on those with wealth over $20 million, the Liberal Party, Conservative Party, and the Bloc Québécois united to shut down the proposal. Here’s the rub: not only does around 80% of the public support a wealth tax, even 73% of households within the top income bracket support it. Abacus Data breaks down the support per party as follows:
Yes — even the majority (64%) of Conservative Party voters support the proposal, and yet Conservative MPs unanimously rejected it. The same is true for Liberal Party voters (86%) and Bloc Québécois voters (93%), and yet there was likewise unanimous rejection of the proposal by MPs of both parties.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, this is an ongoing trend. In 2019, Abacus Data polled Canadians about policies the Liberal Party could implement with the support of the NDP, and found that there was a majority support among Liberal voters for the entire NDP platform. What is most interesting, at least for this article, is the amount of support by Liberal voters for bold action on climate change including ending subsidies to oil companies and helping workers in the oil and gas sector transitioning to other jobs. Has Prime Minister Trudeau done anything meaningful to transition to a green economy? Unfortunately, and again not surprisingly, he has not; Trudeau time and time again gives enormous subsidies to oil and gas companies.
If you are among the majority of Liberal or Conservative voters which Abacus Data reports to be in favour of progressive and/or green policies, it is time for you to be upset. You are not being represented in parliament. The members of parliament (MPs) who you voted for prioritize the interests of capital over you. Both parties merely pay lip-service to the working and middle classes, but ultimately view the working and middle classes with contempt. It is time we uplift progressive and socialist politicians — those who truly seek to represent you. It is time we put an end corporate oligarchy, or state-monopoly capitalism.
Read more articles like this on our website: theleftgazette.com.
