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Whether it worked under a Democratic system depends on whether the legislation you are concerned with was passed legally. Democracy would have worked perfectly

Whether it worked under a Democratic system depends on whether the legislation you are concerned with was passed legally. Democracy would have worked perfectly fine if democratically elected officials made decisions and passed legislation that they were legally allowed to pass. We may disagree with what what passed, bit that's a concern of the outcome rather than the process in which those people were elected. I very much agree with you with regards to the problems of big tech, big business, and lobbying in general. They are technically operating within the laws created by democratically elected officials, though. That's the problem. We need a smaller government with less reach and fewer powers. We don't need to claim that those who were democratically elected somehow escaped democracy while working within the bounds of the rules they were given, we need to limit the rules.

hilbert42 2y ago
"They are technically operating within the laws created by democratically elected officials, though." Two issues: first, they may be technically operating within the law but if the legislation which enacted the law was achieved by processes/means that were biased/not truly democratic (i.e.: ones that benefit them) then citizens are disadvantaged. Unequal representation is undemocratic. Second, laws may be on the books but if the State does not prosecute when they are violated then it makes a mockery of the law. Big Tech/Business has used political power and influence to stop the State prosecuting. For example, Sherman antitrust (and its successors) have been on the books since the 1890s and the State has done essentially nothing to reign in monopolistic practices of these companies. That's just for starters. By any objective measure democracy in the US is essentially non functional. One only has to look at the polarized political divide which is widening further by the day to see that.

hilbert42 2y ago

"They are technically operating within the laws created by democratically elected officials, though." Two issues: first, they may be technically operating within the law but if the legislation which enacted the law was achieved by processes/means that were biased/not truly democratic (i.e.: ones that benefit them) then citizens are disadvantaged. Unequal representation is undemocratic. Second, laws may be on the books but if the State does not prosecute when they are violated then it makes a mockery of the law. Big Tech/Business has used political power and influence to stop the State prosecuting. For example, Sherman antitrust (and its successors) have been on the books since the 1890s and the State has done essentially nothing to reign in monopolistic practices of these companies. That's just for starters. By any objective measure democracy in the US is essentially non functional. One only has to look at the polarized political divide which is widening further by the day to see that.