Cap and Dem

Here are three statements that are taken as axioms by many in our society: 

1.       Democracy is the best form of government

2.       Capitalism is the best economic system

3.       Democracy and capitalism always, or generally, work hand in glove together to improve the lot of participants. 

I generally agree with these statements in principle, but consider any concepts this foundational to be worth testing periodically.  As with many ideas taken as self-evident, they may suffer from lack of close examination, and uncritical acceptance.     

At their best, democracy and capitalism are environments within which individual aspirations can be pursued freely, unencumbered by government-imposed political or economic tyranny.  Individual actors may vote as they please, and direct their investments however they choose.  In aggregate, the person, or proposal that gains the most favor is elected or becomes law; and the investment that appears most promising to the most people is successful in attracting funding – often bidding up its price in the process.  At their best, no system better translates attractiveness into success – at the expense of less attractive candidates, policies, and investment opportunities. 

In order to attract investment and increase profits, enterprises are driven to the lowest-cost source for identical factors of production and distribution.  This, in turn, encourages efficiency on the providers of these factors, and generally throughout the entire value chain – and drives inefficient, high-cost providers out of business, and lowers the cost of goods and services to consumers.   

MAKE MORE COMPACT - One person, one vote, vs. One dollar, one vote