America is just a giant plutocracy

Much has been made lately about the peril of American democracy. The January 6th “coup,” the rise of MAGA, and Russian influence on U.S. elections – all are described as existential threats to democracy itself. But contemporary discussions about threats to U.S. democracy make a sweeping assumption: that America still is a democracy.

The premise has been suggested – and supported without much effort – that the U.S. is no longer a democracy. Not in the purest sense anyway. Rather, in functional terms, the U.S. has come to be a plutocracy – a “government by the wealthy.”

In a democracy, “the masses broadly determine their future.” In a democracy, each individual has “one vote” so to speak, meaning that each person has equal say and equal influence over their government. In the most technical terms, U.S. citizens still enjoy one vote per person, sure. But in functional terms, the say or influence a U.S. citizen has over their government equates to their income level.