3 ms·
As an outsider looking at the US, this looks so dangerous. It feels like the whole democratic system is bending to the power of money. Just a few weeks ago, an
by yoavm 2y ago
As an outsider looking at the US, this looks so dangerous. It feels like the whole democratic system is bending to the power of money.
Just a few weeks ago, an American friend was making the comparison between the number of billion $ companies in the EU vs the US. I was trying to tell them that it isn't necessarily a bad thing to have less of that - I rather have 1,000 million $ companies than a billion $ one. The concentration of financial power seems so unhealthy, and it looks like it's crippling the whole American system.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- janderson215 2y agoThe US isn’t just home to the largest companies. You only hear about the multinational corporations when you’re in other countries, but all those companies operate in the US initially because the US is very friendly to small businesses relative to the rest of the world. I would be willing to place a substantial wager on the US having more operating businesses per capita than any large country in the EU. Business in the US is underappreciated in so many ways.
- yoavm 2y agoCould be, but I don't think it changes my point about some companies (or people) acquiring too much wealth (aka power), in a way that risks democracy.
- janderson215 2y agoI think there is an argument to be made that large companies could challenge creeping authoritarianism, but I agree that for profit entities becoming too powerful is a risk.
- lbrito 2y ago>I rather have 1,000 million $ companies than a billion $ one Except in the real world the bn $ company will dump and outright buy the puny million dollar companies. It will do everything in its power, which is a lot, legally and illegally, to destroy the competition. That's just the way capitalism works.
- ZYbCRq22HbJ2y7 2y agoI thought monopolies were bad for capitalism?
- lbrito 2y agoAnd yet people smoke and eat fast food.
- ken47 2y agoDemocracy being influenced by wealth has always been a thing.
- Super_Jambo 2y agoI think what's most worrying here is Trump & co publicly exerting influence over these huge companies. So the concentration of economic power has made the number of oligarchs he needs to capture quite manageable.
- yoavm 2y agoDemocracy was always influenced by wealth, now it looks like it can easily be taken over. The richest people are buying their seats in the government, and the very rich (but not the richest) feel like they have to protect their wealth by politically endorsing it.