BY JON HUER
There has never been a time before in America history when the word “democracy” is mentioned so often and with such passion as today.
We hear that Democrats are fighting to “protect democracy,” while Republicans are legislating to “secure democracy.” But, whichever side may be right, what kind of “democracy” are they trying so hard to protect or secure? Only “half democracy!”
Whatever their claim may be, in truth, neither side has anything to do with real and true democracy. If anything, they are fighting over “half democracy” in America.
Half democracy? Ever since the Founding Fathers instituted the world-famous one-man, one-vote political system in America, the concept of one-man, one-vote has become so deeply embedded in our political infrastructure that we think there is nothing else that is as precious in our political system. But this precious political system covers only one-half of a democratic system, only the political side of citizen sovereignty.
The other half of democracy is on the economic side. The right of every person being entitled to one vote each, no matter what his station in society might be, means nothing unless this political right is paired with the person’s economic right. In fact, to make it full-and-true democracy, one-man, one-vote equality must be paired with one-man, one-dollar economic equality.
If they give each citizen a bread basket as their precious democratic right, there must be bread in the basket.
A poor man can exercise his voting rights any way he wants, but it makes no difference in his economic life which remains just as poor no matter how freely he votes with his political power. In fact, ever since the Brown vs. Board of Education rule outlawed segregation, Black men have still been given the empty bread basket election after election.
This political voting right makes so little difference in American elections that half of American voters voluntarily abandon their voting rights. If the voting right were as precious as we are told at every election, like a redeemable gift certificate, it is doubtful that American voters would throw away their gift certificates so casually.
The voting right has been extended to every man, like the right to sit at the lunch counter, but no money has been extended to him to actually eat the lunch.
Unlike the vote, no dollar has come the poor man’s way: Rich men are still rich and poor men are still poor. The 2020 presidential election was heartily celebrated simply because, facing America’s political democracy in crisis with Donald Trump’s fascism, 75 percent of American voters cast their votes to return to traditional half-democracy. Indeed, America regained its democracy that was only at half measure.
Biden saved America’s political democracy but economic democracy is still in the pockets of the super-rich!
Today, the liberals, Democrats and intellectuals fight so hard to push the voting rights that they are too exhausted to even mention the other half of our rights. Bill Gates always smiles after he casts his vote. Is that because he knows that his money is safe no matter how the election turns out?
The very idea of democracy, from the ancient Greeks to Americans in 1776, was thought full and true only if the citizens who were politically free to vote were also economically equal to one another to enjoy that very political privilege. No democracy is real unless the voting rights are accompanied by their bread baskets that are fully loaded with bread.
In 2020, Democrats realized that Trump was a threat to their voting rights and came out in droves to exercise their political power. But the same voters have never realized that the super-rich are a threat to their economic power or have demanded their one-man, one-dollar citizen power to make their democracy complete in America.
(If you believe one-man, one-dollar is too “socialist,” isn’t one-man, one-vote also socialist, a billionaire and a minimum wager both getting the same one vote each?)
Whoever wins the current fight over voting rights, Republican or Democratic, the winners will enjoy only their meaningless political right. The economic power, with all the rights and privileges appertaining to, will still belong to the super rich.
But, strangely enough, Americans, who fight together for voting rights, prefer to struggle alone and ineffectively if it is about economic power. Why do the citizens who vociferously fight for their political rights remain quiet losers for their economic rights?
Well, the story of how Corporate America allowed us the voting rights without economic rights — a story of capitalist propaganda, of fear of socialism, of Hollywood escapism, of Christmas every day, and so on — is for another day.
Jon Huer, columnist for the Recorder and Professor Emeritus, is a Greenfield resident. He is the author of a dozen books of social commentaries, art criticisms and political economy, including “The Dead End,” which TIME magazine called “an important and brilliant book (about) America’s national death wish.”