Limited Political Choices In Capitalist Democracies – OpEd
Anti-capitalism and anti-globalization banners. Photo by Guillaume Paumier, Wikimedia Commons.
The advanced capitalist countries—including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, and several Western European nations—have failed to offer their citizens a genuine range of choices in terms of availability and accessibility of multiple political parties, different ideologies, alternative policies options, and visions for the future.
Despite relative prosperity and established democratic frameworks within these countries often present limited, binary options within their political systems. These dominant options based on two party system shape political discourse with policies and ideologies that are often indistinguishable. This lack of choice is not accidental; it is a deliberate design to protect the economic interests of both ruling and non-ruling elites within a capitalist framework.
Although multiple political parties officially exist and registered in these advanced capitalist countries, they often exist in name only or work as interest groups. These smaller parties are frequently marginalised within mainstream political discourse, particularly in the media and in electoral democracy as elections are too expensive in a market led society. As a result, they struggle to gain visibility, which limits public awareness of diverse perspectives and reduces the influence of alternative ideas on issues crucial to both citizens and the country. This media emphasis on dominant parties narrows the spectrum of political choices available to citizens, reinforcing the status quo and restricting meaningful ideological and policy choices which are confined within two party system. This bipolarisation of politics hinders the deepening of a democracy that serves both people and the planet.
The advocates of capitalism have long argued that capitalism is not only necessary condition for freedom but also essential for democracy. Such ahistorical arguments frame capitalism as the foundation upon which democracy and freedom rest. It suggests that economic liberty under capitalism naturally leads to political and social freedoms. The idea is to reinforce capitalism as central to every democratic decision-making processes, political institutions and structures of governance. Such an ideological foundation gives capitalism upper hand and weakens the foundations and functioning of democracy. The primacy of capitalism as an ideological project weakens diversities of decision-making processes within a democratic set up. Therefore, the single window systems of decision making emerged to facilitate interests of capitalism.
Work and starve is not freedom, it is another form of slavery. Developed economy with deprived people in an alienated society is not ideal for human lives. The democratic systems within capitalist societies neither provide genuine freedom nor uphold true democratic values. Instead, they restrict political choices, limiting the availability of alternative political perspectives, as it is easier to manage a few elite classes than to address the needs of the working masses. Subsequently, capitalist democracy shapes society and promotes policies that align with the interests of a select few dominant elites. The dominance of two-party systems—such as the Democrats and Republicans in the USA, Labour and Conservatives in the UK, and similar polarising duality of political trends in France, Australia, and Japan—illuminates how capitalist democracies offer only limited, binary options in their electoral processes. These two dominant parties ultimately represent two different facets of capitalist interests, offering minimal choice to citizens while maintaining the status quo.
Capitalism and its political cultures are incompatible with democratic diversities. It stands in opposition to fundamental democratic values, particularly freedom of political choice, which is essential for a thriving democratic society. Capitalism inherently creates cultures of democratic deficit, making true political diversity nearly impossible to realise. By streamlining political processes and consolidating decision-making, capitalism safeguards its own interests, which are threatened by democratic decentralisation. Capitalism often forms alliances with authoritarian, reactionary, feudal and religious forces and ensures their electoral victory with the help of mass media and propaganda. Therefore, capitalism often undermines robust democracies with multi-party systems, advocating for “efficiency” as a justification for limiting political plurality and centralising power.
The two leading capitalist democracies, the UK and the US, exemplify how democracy can be undermined by the bipolarisation of politics, where two dominant parties offer only two different versions of capitalist interests. This system effectively erases alternatives, even within existing democratic frameworks. Leaders like Jeremy Corbyn in the UK and Bernie Sanders in the United States encountered significant obstacles, as the entrenched capitalist political structures suppressed even minimal progressive, liberal, and democratic ideals. Capitalism, at its core, is fundamentally opposed to the values of democracy, prioritising the protection of property, property owners, and their interests under the guise of democratic principles. Bipolarisation of politics with two dominant political parties are concomitant with requirements of capitalism.
Radical democracy can only be achieved through the political mobilisation of working people, whose struggles have the potential to deepen democracy and embrace a diversity of ideals, policies, and visions for an egalitarian society free from inequality and exploitation. It is impossible to uphold the interests of working people without continuous struggle for radical democracy. In essence, working class struggle is not only merely a fight to preserve democracy itself but also a movement to protect people from the exploitative nature of capitalism. Working class struggles are inherently struggles for democracy. It is time to embrace and celebrate the ideals of working-class struggles ensure the democratic politics and policies of peace and prosperity.
Bhabani Shankar Nayak
works as Professor of Business Management, Guildhall School of Business and Law, London Metropolitan University, UK.
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