The Biggest Threat To American Democracy Isn’t Authoritarianism
It is plutocracy
If you ask anyone what the biggest threat to American democracy is, you will likely hear about authoritarianism. From Nazi boogeymen to communism, both sides of the political spectrum seem to see authoritarians everywhere. Democrats think that Trump will morph into some Putin-esque dictator if elected. Republicans believe that Democrats have rigged the ballot box and are using the justice system to ruin the competition. Words like authoritarian and dictatorship fly with ease. But those who are whining about “authoritarianism” within the American political system are missing the point. And they are missing it badly.
The real threat to American democracy isn’t authoritarianism. It is plutocracy. How often do you hear the media fretting about plutocracy? Never. And there is a reason for that.
In fact, most Americans probably don’t even know what a plutocracy is. A plutocracy is a form of oligarchy in which the oligarchs are wealthy.
The definition of plutocracy reads:
government by the wealthy OR a controlling class of the wealthy
That is going to resonate with many more Americans than the idea of authoritarianism. The likelihood that the United States is plunged into a fascist-era…
