The Relationship of Capitalism and Democracy

             The relationship that exists between capitalism and democracy is one that contradicts itself. It is obvious that the nations that follow the ideology of both capitalism and democracy are the nations that tend to be more industrialized and more economically stable, for example, the United States and Canada. But yet there is a tension that exists between both capitalism and democracy. According to Bendix and Hobsbawm, it is understood that there is a conflict of interest between capitalists, those who want a market to be free to do what they want, and democrats, those who want to construct rights and freedoms for individual citizens. In this paper, I will argue that the relationship between both capitalism and democracy is one of the consistent and unending contradictions. Capitalism unleashes political, economic and social forces that progressively infringe upon democratic rights. This, therefore, creates social conflict that in turn leads to the extension of democracy. This conflict between capitalism and democracy can be found in many examples of political history from the electoral process to the French Revolution, to the Age of Empire and also the Russian Revolution.
             Even though capitalism and democracy seem to coexist, there remains a tension between both ideologies. Capitalism is based on the idea of industrializing and creating an economically stable society. Democracy, on the other hand, deals with the idea of creating a society that allows all citizens to remain equal through rights and freedoms. According to Bendix and Hobsbawm, both ideologies contradict each other due to class structure. It is understood that there are two major classes in society, there is the rich (owners) and the poor (workers). The tension that exists is that capitalists want to create a better market, but in order to do so, they must manipulate the democratic structure. Basically the capitalists want to influence the citizens of a democracy to not f...

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The Relationship of Capitalism and Democracy. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 11:45, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/24642.html