For a political science class, I was asked to investigate the relationship between democracy and capitalism; the quality of democracy is heavily influenced by capitalism, but to what extent? In “Democracy for the Few”, Michael Parenti discusses the relationship between “want” and “wealth” in a capitalist society. To Parenti, “want” is concerned with genuine human needs, while “wealth” is merely the concern of profiteers, and capitalism allows the subordination of “want” to “wealth”. He explains how a capitalist society creates an endless cycle in which the rich continue to vigorously prosper, while average citizens (the majority of people) are exploited, underpaid, or otherwise neglected. “The top 1 percent [of Americans] own between 40 and 50 percent of the nation’s total wealth” (Parenti 8). Parenti argues that capitalism allows for the undermining of labor’s value since the ultimate goal is profit.

Furthermore, he is troubled by the nature of the “free market” and the careless greed exhibited by large corporations; instead of concerning themselves with human need, corporations focus only on their profit. “When asked what they were doing about the widespread hunger in the United States, one food manufacturer responded with refreshing candor: If we saw evidence of profitability, we might look into this’” (Parenti 15).Parenti criticizes capitalism (and the inevitable “wealth vs. want” issue it produces) in a democratic country because, while democracy promises equality and fairness, the very nature of capitalism spoils and corrupts democracy’s efforts. Since the incredibly wealthy have managed to grow their roots so deep in financial security, any economic crisisin which the bulk of a country becomes vulnerablewill further add to the power of these tyrant corporations. “For the big capitalists, economic downturns are not unmitigated gloom. Smaller competitors are weeded out, unions are weakened and often broken, a reserve supply of unemployed workers helps to further depress wages, and profits rise faster than wages” (Parenti 12). Capitalism affords a grotesquely unequal distribution of money, and the majority of people afflicted with joblessness, homelessness, and/or starvation are simply products of its insufficiency.

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