Capitalism And Democracy

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Pages: 2

The relationship between capitalism and democracy is one that works to contradict itself. Democracy is a system of government in which the power is held by the people. Capitalism, on the other hand, is the economic and political system in which trade and industry are run by private owners instead of being run by the state. The nations that follow democracy and capitalism usually tend to be economically, as well as industrially stable, but there is still a clear tension that is evident between the two systems. There is a clear conflict of interest that arises between those who want the market to be completely free to do as they want, and those who work to actively construct the rights and to promote the freedoms of citizens. Capitalism does in fact support democracy, in …show more content…
The result is that the democratic process will ultimately be corrupted by money that is put into the political process. As well as the influence it has over many politicians. The capitalist economy makes an democratic country into one that is up for hire. According to the Smith theory of the invisible hand, democracy undermines the power of capitalism by involving itself in its affairs, by mandating prices, by supply and demand, etc. Democracy supports the development of capitalism by how willing citizens are with interfering in the functions of capitalism to allow it to progress freely. As well, if citizens were to begin to be upset over the functions or for example class disparities, a democratic government is best suited to respond quicker than other forms of government. With the 2008 financial collapse, their was a clear conflict between democracy and capitalism. The events leading up to the 2008 collapse where extremely significant and show how monetary policy shouldn't be so heavily relied upon. With housing market failing due to irresponsible lending, the financial system was exposed for all to see. This resulted in a loss of faith from investors in big banks and then they started to go