Corporate America has amassed the wealth and resources necessary to influence legislation. This tragedy has become the scourge of democracy and capitalism alike. It's a reminder of why we separated church and state.
America was founded with some great ideas: democracy, the separation of church and state, capitalism and anti trust laws. Tragically, even with our checks and balances, corporate America has reached a point where they have the ability to effectively influence legislation. Corruption in a word.
The separation of Church and state was brilliant. Someone had the foresight that, in a country that was founded as a melting pot for different religions and cultures, having religion influence legislation would be disastrous. It would be corruption. It might not be the worst form of corruption, but it would be corruption. It would be one sect deciding what is right for all. Teaching the bible in school makes no sense at all, if you happen to be Buddhist. I wish we had people making decisions simply because they're good decisions and deferring decisions to the individual when appropriate or possible.
What problems might you run into if a religion were allowed to govern the country? Discrimination of the gay community. Banning teaching evolution in favor of creationism. Halting the development of some medical research.
Our forefathers foresaw many of these problems. Perhaps with their European roots and the religious turmoil there, they were informed on these fronts. I believe they made many good choices and founded the country on some sound ideas “Every man is created equal” though I would update it to say “every man and woman” and has certain inalienable rights.
I think that these rights go hand in hand with capitalism (I'm pretty much spot on with Ayn Rand here). Provided everyone is given a good start-education, health care and such-- you're then given the opportunity to excel in the world. Your productivity directly correlates to your wealth. Some people will be better workers than you and they could make more than you or work less to make the same. It is as fair as can be, in a sense. You can achieve more than your parents or perhaps less, but it's in your hands.
For capitalism to be a good option, some things are necessary (or should be). The government should aid or provide education, health care and more to those with impaired abilities. They would also provide things which and individual could not, like fire protection, security both domestic and national, law, a transportation infrastructure and… well, I'm running out. These things are necessities and should be provided by the government. And, these necessities must not be confused with wants. Perhaps if the government hadn't subsidized the use of gas so heavily we would have come up with some alternate solutions long ago (just an example and it gets into economics… and, honestly, some subsidy does make a little sense to me).
When these criteria aren't filled, the inequalities become huge. When education fails to keep up or huge barriers to entry are formed capitalism becomes something else entirely. It becomes a world of exceptionally abled and exceptionally less abled. It sops being about a work and reward system, it becomes a system of oppression and exploitation. The larger a corporation becomes, the further removed from capitalism we are. Capitalism depends on a fair market and, when a corporation has amassed enough wealth, they are afforded the ability to do some bullying and some price gouging. They can amass an unreasonable amount of resources or form cartels. Some might argue it's capitalism at it's finest but I would argue that it's hardly capitalism at all at this point.
It's tragic, or at lest it would be in the absence of government. At least they have the ability to do some breakup cartels and monopolys. They can regulate these things to ensure that the common American can still have a shot at a great life and reduce the stratification of society a little. The government has these powers, they were considered essential and were established many many years ago.
. In the same way that the marriage of democracy and the church could change into a terrible thing if not carefully guided so too can democracy and capitalism. As larger and larger corporations are formed, they have more and more money and, effectively, power. They can fund a politician's election. They can fund lobbyist groups to sway public opinion. They have the power to shape the world they live in. And, if they opt to shape the world in a way that favors them at the detriment of the common good or the system's (democracy or capitalism) original purpose, they are corrupt. In fact, that's the definition of corruption.
I think that we need to be driven by an idea of common good. There was an idea set forth centuries ago about freedom, equality and opportunity. And, I think that these ideas were, at a time, synonymous with America. Right and wrong wasn't drawn out for us by our forefathers but the spirit of freedom, equality and opportunity was. I believe that for government to act in a way that oversteps these bounds, within reason, or in opposition to these bounds is an act of corruption. And, I don't believe that it is much better for an individual to take a stance that isn't in line with the pursuit of freedom, equality and opportunity.
Tragically, these things aren't mutually exclusive. Freedom and safety are at times at odds: for example freedom to wear or not wear a seatbelt has been argued, and I would argue that it is reasonable to have legislation requiring it. If I were to hit someone that chose not to wear their seatbelt, I could end up killing someone. The mental anguish that would put me through, regardless of fault, would be unjust. You could call it freedom to vs. freedom against. Anyway, the point is, we are sometimes faced with difficult decisions and it is my hope that people and corporations think twice about their motives. Further or continued corruption would be a tragedy. I love the idea of America and want to love America itself as much.
