Americans are fond of saying we live in a ‘democracy,’ though conservatives usually hasten to add that it’s ‘really’ a constitutional republic.
Others insist it’s merely a ‘representative democracy,’ not a true democracy, while still others insist that we’re defined by our capitalist economic system and are in effect ruled by the wealthy — which would make the U.S. a plutocracy.
What is the real truth about the U.S.? ARE we a democracy … or a failing semi-democracy … or a ‘representative’ democracy … or a capitalist plutocracy?
Personally, I think it’s ‘none of the above’ — because most explanations of our American system don’t take into account two huge factors that play a major role in determining the type of society and government we have.
The first factor is the rapid transition, over the last 50 years, from a creative manufacturing-based economy to a passive consumption-based economy. The second is the bizarre long-term tendency for the U.S. to have extremely low voter/citizen participation rates.
It turns out, these two factors are interconnected — since passive consumerism easily morphs into public apathy and low levels of citizen involvement … while citizen apathy and non-involvement directly encourage passive consumerism.
A hollow imitation of a functional nation
My take on the United States’ ‘real’ nature is this: we live in a putative ‘democracy’, which is just a semi-democracy, which is just a representative semi-democracy, which is highly dysfunctional both because half of Americans don’t vote, and because our elected representatives are highly beholden to the wealthy and to rich donors … which leaves our society careening chaotically from one crisis to another, as our ‘representative democracy’ disintegrates and our government is increasingly paralyzed.
The sad truth, to me, is that the U.S. is now just a hollow shell of a real, functional nation — and is veering dangerously close to collapse and/or possible civil war.
The path that took us to this dangerous precipice is pretty obvious: when greed, selfishness, and immediate gratification through consumerism began, um, consuming us, most prior civic engagement and civic awareness — as limited as they already were — went out the window.
Rather quickly, by historical standards, former ‘citizens’ morphed into being mere ‘consumers’ — and this sea change was reflected in the way our media started referring to us as ‘consumers’ far more than as ‘citizens.’
Is it any surprise that today’s U.S. is anarchic, chaotic, and dysfunctional? It’s been set up to become this way.
The U.S. was set up to fail
When I say it’s been ‘set up’ to be this way, I mean that in both senses of the phrase: it was deliberately created to be like this (embodying capitalism’s ‘creative destruction’), and in the process, we were also duped, deceived, and massively ‘set up.’
Of course, most capitalism apologists and ‘patriots’ believe the U.S. was set up to be successful, and quite masterfully, but I think the opposite is true: the U.S. was actually set up to fail.
Why do I say this? Well, for starters, the U.S. was originally settled and colonized by criminals, religious fanatics, and others fleeing persecution and oppression. The dominant theme was escape from tyranny/oppression, which often took the form of trying to escape or overturn most of what made Europe and England ‘civilized.’
The U.S. was meant to be a new kind of nation, a new experiment in nation-building. In a way, it was designed to jettison most of the old, established ways — ‘out with the old, in with the new.’
. . .
This sounds good, in theory — but in reality, it was a daunting, near-impossible task. If the colonists and our founders had been total geniuses and moral giants, they perhaps could have set us on a wise, sustainable course. But overall — with a few exceptions like Benjamin Franklin — they weren’t, and they didn’t.
No, what they did was get rid of many former rules and restraints, throw us to the wolves, and set us up to be a capitalism-dominated society — within the framework of a supposed ‘representative democracy.’
However, our new nation was always much more about escaping the past and embracing ‘freedom from,’ than about cooperation and idealistic ‘freedom for.’ It was always much more about individual freedom and ‘liberty’ — freedom from restraint or oppression — as opposed to cultivating freedom for society-building and mutual, cooperative efforts.
It turns out that this choice, this deliberately chosen direction and ‘platform’ for the growth of the U.S., was disastrously short-sighted — and ultimately calamitous.
A hyper-individualistic and delusional nation
Looking back over the past 250 years of our history, it’s easy to see the inherent, intentional seeds of what we have now become. They were all there, right from the start: The escapism. The selfishness. The misogyny (citizenship was for White men). Institutionalized slavery. The murderous genocide of the Native Americans. ‘Conquering’ and abusing the natural world. Excessive individualism. Greed. Capitalism. Liberty.
Me. Me. Me.
It’s gotten so bad now, in the U.S., that I cringe whenever I hear someone yelling about their ‘liberty’ and ‘freedom.’ From the beginning, we’ve suffered from a huge, destructive overemphasis on individual ‘liberty’ and freedom from rules, regulations, restraint, etc. — along with a corresponding vast under-emphasis on sharing, cooperation, and community.
Put differently: the U.S. is a hyper-individualistic nation and society that fosters selfishness, greed, endless competition, and a deep sense of separateness and isolation.
From the beginning, we’ve labored under the dangerous delusion that individual ‘pursuit of happiness’ and individual greed would somehow lead to a beneficial collective future and a harmonious, high-functioning society.
That’s no different, in essence, than believing we can plant cucumbers — and then confidently expect to harvest apples or peaches! It makes absolutely no sense.
And at this point, it’s become totally obvious that our hyper-individualism and self-centeredness are creating and perpetuating an unmitigated social and cultural disaster.
We’re not a true ‘nation’ or ‘society’ at all
So, back to my original question: Is the U.S. a democracy, a semi-democracy, a republic, a plutocracy — or none of these? Well, based on the qualities and characteristics we’ve explored so far, I’d say that, first and foremost, the U.S. isn’t really a true society or nation at all.
Weirdly, and frighteningly, it’s primarily just an agglomeration of individuals — a vast collection of isolated, greedy, and fearful social competitors who are always vying to ‘get ahead’ or ‘beat the competition.’
In a sense, there IS NO ‘society’ here, nor is there a functional ‘nation’ based on cooperation and shared values.
What we’re experiencing now, in the U.S., is the inevitable, necessary result of the exact economic and social structures that we created and still support. Our crazed divisiveness, endless partisan gridlock, and insatiable consumerism all stem from our proud (no, shameful) American ‘original sins’: our hyper-individualism and lack of emphasis on community spirit and sharing.
Our nation is a massive failure
What is the real truth about the U.S.? The questions “Are we a democracy … or a semi-democracy … or a ‘representative’ democracy … or a capitalist plutocracy?” are all, ultimately, irrelevant. It’s all the above … and none of the above.
What matters is this: our hyper-individualism and profound lack of emphasis on community spirit and sharing have created a dying, dysfunctional ‘society,’ and with it a paralyzed, dysfunctional government.
Day by day, it’s becoming clearer and clearer — any society that encourages selfishness, greed, envy, and endless competition (instead of cooperation) is doomed to fail.
And in today’s world, there’s no better example of this mind-numbing, heart-crushing failure than the United States.
—
This post was previously published on Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs.
***
You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: iStock
This strikes me as so far to the right, that it’s left.