The Formation of a Plutonian Republic over the Ruins of Democracy

 

Daniel J. Neumann

Professor Leonard

April 7, 2009                      

Voting/Interest Groups Essay (Informal, Conversational)

The Formation of a Plutonian Republic over the Ruins of Democracy

            “Yes we can!” I chanted with the crowd. “Yes we can!” Barack Obama outlines an idealized America, hope for a crumbling economy, and promises change in Washington. “Yes we can!” On November 4^th,I travel by car-pool to the single voting location for college students: a church. The line outstretches to the back of the parking lot. “Yes we can!” I wait three hours to choose the democratic party-line. Finally, I think, people will enforce some accountability to these incompetent politicians. “Yes we can!”

 

            The act I participated in—the popular vote in a general election—caused President Barack Obama to enter office. In a democracy, the majority, the People, rule. Without me, no politician can enter the White House. They work for me .

            Well, not exactly. The United States of America adopted an electoral college as part of a representative democracy . Townships and districts tally their votes, declaring which party won their jurisdiction. These results can be either all Democratic or all Republican, but never proportionate (i.e. not 11% independent, 49% republican, 40% democratic). The states divide 435 seats in the Electoral College based upon a population consensus measured every decade. The popular vote, while reported, has no bearing on the actual outcome of an election, as proven in the 2000 race when more Americans voted for Al Gore, but Bush won the presidency. Thus, states vote, not citizens.

            Plato argued that the majority of any given nation lacks the education required to decide on matters outpacing their significance. He believed that politicians could usurp power by appeasing the masses with sensationalism, attractiveness, and empty promises. Only a handful of highly-informed, intelligent, and skilled officials should control the government. The People, as a formality, may influence the administration, but that serves more as an illusion to maintain peace.

            In the United States, interest groups affect the system more than a vote. Any profit or non-profit organization may assemble Political Action Groups. Examples of non-profit organizations include the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the National Rifle Association. Sometimes workers unionize under interest groups to bargain for better wages. Corporations, such as Exxon, Disney, and Philip Morris, however, can afford more lobbyists and bigger favors to politicians.

            Some claim that a “Free Rider Problem” plagues interest groups, using the example that, while not everyone donates to or joins the Environmental Protection Agency, all people on Earth benefit from their actions. It goes much further than that. Corporations serve their best interest by manipulating the political agenda of their host country (with some private holdings as great as some nation’s treasuries). Every board member of Peabody Energy wants to see the 2007 energy bill changed, so that they can profit by creating a synthetic-coal-jet-fuel (but doubling national CO₂ emissions). Not every human on Earth cares about the environment. Thus, the Environmental Protection Agency stands no chance against the more willing and wealthy Peabody Energy Corporation.

            The concept of “trade unions” dilutes the issue—since it seems so American for employers to answer their workers’ grievances. Yes, there are more trade unions and non-profit organization interest groups than corporations. But, no, that isn’t a good thing. Corporate oligopolies control every industry. That means they do not compete against each other. The non-profit organizations such as National Right to Life and Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice , however, do compete. The dirty secret of interest groups: Corporations employ countless lobbyists to influence their agenda, and all the other Political Action Committees are static by comparison.

 

            “No we can’t!” I cry to the television screen. “We can’t spend our way out of this!” The Bailout Plan, the Stimulus Package, the Government Loan. Despite my efforts to participate, I feel betrayed by the politician whom I loved. “I drank the kool-aid, didn’t I?” Barack Obama and the democrats that I polled for now write the laws to be criticized by historians. “How did this happen?” Because most of the United States’ political system revolves around interest groups, because the wealthiest corporations have a natural advantage in an Article-527, lobbyist-system, we have a plutocratic republic. “Perhaps we need a socialist democracy…”