Guiding Questions
Use the media links below to help answer the guiding questions for this weeks blog post. Blog requirements. Story of Stuff Does Capitalism Exploit Workers Capitalism v. Democracy Democracy or Capitalism Requirements for BLOG POSTS
83 Comments
Candice D.
3/30/2015 05:30:19 pm
I believe that our economic system (capitalism) and governing system (representative democracy) is adherently interconnected with one another. It has been confirmed that modern democracy came along with capitalism, and both are necessary for rising modern civilization. Many of the scholars believe that capitalism is in fact necessary for democracy in a historical point of view. Friedman states that he knows “ of no example in time or place of a society that has been marked by a large measure of political freedom, and that has not also used something comparable to a free market to organized the bulk of economic activity.” One important relationship between capitalism and democracy is the practice of supply and demand, which causes the powers behind the distribution of resources. As consumers, there may be high demand for a particular product, which directly affects the corporations (companies) to increase their supplies. Unfortunately, our government significantly sides with our businesses because they has directly benefited our economic system (capitalism) and has led to great power and authority for corporations. This is because our corporations and government function with money. Without money, they will not be able to reach society needs. However, in the video, " Story of Stuff," it makes it known that businesses and corporations have profited more money from sales than our government. This is because our government spends around $59 billion dollars per year on social welfare programs, like section 8 and unemployment.
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4/1/2015 11:07:35 am
Hi There, Candice!
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Alicia L
6/15/2015 06:06:11 pm
Yes, democracy and capitalism do work together to and contribute to a rising modern society, however, its not necessary. There are many other countries that are labeled socialist and communist that are also doing well when in comes to the world market. I do have to note that although they are labeled socialist or whatever, they are very much capitalistic.
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Britney Yarbrough
3/31/2015 09:25:59 am
Blog Post # 1
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Breanna F.
4/1/2015 06:25:07 pm
Hello, Brittany!
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Breanna F.
4/1/2015 06:27:10 pm
*Britney
Tionne Johnson
4/3/2015 05:12:53 am
I strongly agree with you when you say that capitalism and democracy are connected through consumption. And I think that this is our government's greatest downfall. How they can out money over the people when there are people in the U.S. with nothing to eat. You're right the power is not in the people anymore, money has all of the power and as long as our government operates this way we will ever have a stable economy.
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Maryjoyce Pascual
4/3/2015 04:15:29 pm
Good evening Britney,
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Alicia L
6/15/2015 06:01:51 pm
Great post! I totally agree with you. Capitalism and democracy our definitely are related through distributing wealth to a handful of people. Democracy is suppose to be for the people by definition, however, in practice, it is not. It's funny, I've heard people call our government an oligarchy instead of a democracy.
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Kassandra Mariscal
3/31/2015 01:38:38 pm
I think our economic system is connected to our governing system because money can buy anything these days. Big corporations and individuals are buying our politicians to protect their well being and interests. Millions of dollars go into campaigning and the vast majority of those dollars come from the millionaire supporters of the politician who in return will protect and fight to pass laws that benefit them and fight to block laws that will harm them.
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Zander Smead
3/31/2015 02:08:47 pm
Kassandra,
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4/1/2015 11:13:08 am
Hey Kassandra,
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Gaby Ruiz
4/3/2015 03:30:04 pm
Hello Kassandra, after reading your post i agree with what you had to say! Big corporations and individuals do lobby politicians! It's upsetting that everything you stated in your post is the reality. Fox News shouldn't even be a real news show its upsetting that many people really think that that news show delivers real facts. Like you i too am starting to get a better understanding of all of this as well.
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Luis Lockhart
4/3/2015 04:17:34 pm
Hi Kassandra
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Maryjoyce Pascual
4/3/2015 04:28:55 pm
Good evening Kassandra,
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Rocio Soto
3/31/2015 02:03:45 pm
After watching the video about the Story of Stuff I strongly believe that our governing system (representing democracy) caters to the economic system (capitalism). By catering I mean that the government (the same government that is FOR the people and BY the people) is not really on my side, or yours, or anyone’s. They are connected by money. This toxic relationship between Capitalism and the government is a wealth exchange. It’s a simplistic arrangement. Only for influence. Power. And greed. Money, mula, dinero, plata. However you may say it, does not change the fact that WE (the people) need it.
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Ashley De La Paz
4/2/2015 08:56:53 am
I completely agree with you on how, you state that everything is connected with money, and how the government is not on anyone’s side and will not look out for the better of most citizens. I understand what you mean as well when you state that the government was established on lies, and how everything leads back to them wanting us to buy more and more materialistic products.
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Alexander "Zander" Smead
3/31/2015 02:05:10 pm
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Diana Llamas
4/1/2015 04:39:40 am
I agree with you on the part that the government would not stay open if it wasn't for us. We as in the people are the ones who are working hard for our things while they just sit back. I also agree that the more money you have the more power you will get because it’s true someone with a lot of money can make things possible compared to someone who doesn't.
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Luis Lockhart
4/3/2015 04:22:09 pm
Hey Zander
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Kasey S
3/31/2015 04:24:36 pm
I believe that the economic system and the governing system is connected. These systems is what plays a big role in how our society today works. They're the ones that have the say in how things go. They have the power to do as they please to make changes and that's mainly due to the how powerful money can be. In The Story of Stuff, it talked about how corporations were bigger than the government itself and I completely agree with that. The facts in the video proves that corporations are gaining so much money and the government can't really do anything about it but to work with the corporations. It just goes to show that government is losing its power and that corporations have the upper hand. This situation can be rather conflicting because we as the people don't necessarily want one party to be able to gain that much power. Whether it be corporations or the government, any one person to withhold that much power is just bad news. And it's crazy how media itself plays such a big role in this. These corporations run the media, these groups choose what you consume. They tell you whether or not you're up to date with the latest new trend of fashion and not many people think about it that way but who really has control of what they're consuming anymore?
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Lesley C.
4/1/2015 09:56:11 am
I agree with you completely. Our government is losing power to the corporations and thinking that one party can gain most of the power is pretty scary. People are brainwashed because they do as the TV says. The media definitely plays a part in what the people do nowadays, as in how often they shop or eat.
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Candice D.
4/2/2015 03:59:45 am
Hi Kasey,
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Valarie H.
4/1/2015 03:34:01 am
After watching the video Story of Stuff, I believe that the economic system and our governing system is connected by money. With everything that is produced, the workers are expected to work more and the government want to pay less. The government have the power to take more from you then what you get. As expected people are in demands of products. With that consumers are to put out more money and the government will put in less efforts. When I say less efforts I mean that the workers are doing the work and while the government does nothing. They have the “power” to do everything because of the money we bring to them.
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Kimberly Lopez
4/1/2015 06:30:11 am
I agree with you when you say Capitalism and democracy is being run by money; however, I feel like we allow ourselves to be exploited due to our lack of knowledge and simply because we are so captivated in our own bubble and do not think we have the power of change. Most of us have a sense of how corrupt our government system has become but in today’s time no one seems to do any “radical” event like the few instances our history books tell us about the people who stood up for themselves in order for change. I believe we can change our systems if we were to educate ourselves and instead of making a call to action to actually act as a nation since we clam we are a “nation under God” in our own allegiance. We have forgotten our basic principles and are now “one nation under Money” if you will. It is said that passion is the cousin of death and our governments and corporate are extremely passionate about their money and in return are killing off what we so rightfully own as people of this Earth and we are okay with it only because it is our norm to work and consume like blinded cows.
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Diana Llamas
4/1/2015 04:35:27 am
I think that our economic system is connected to our governing system because they both play out in the same way. In the video story of stuff money is needed. In the beginning it made me think that the government is not really doing anything but just hanging there and letting all the people do the hard work in the world. They would be busting their butts off for them while they just don’t really do anything. The people are the ones who are working harder to put that money. Overall I feel like without us the people being hard workers the government wouldn’t have what they have now.
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Marisa Lerma
4/1/2015 03:10:40 pm
I totally agree with you about how the government isn't really doing anything and we are the ones doing all the work. The hard workers are doing to government’s dirty work and without them, the government wouldn't be the same. I also agree that advertisements makes us believe that we need to keep buying the latest items in order to stay up to date with the newest trends. All they care about is making us spend more money on things we don’t really need, so they can profit from it.
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Valarie H.
4/2/2015 01:54:34 pm
Hey Diana!
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Tanee Asberry
4/1/2015 05:27:25 am
How do you think our economic system (capitalism) is connected to our governing system (representative democracy)? With a textbook definition Capitalism an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state, and Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. I think that any government system that we have in tact will always be connected or controlled by a capitalist system because all we care about is money and what could be the next investment that we can do to make money. Describe how our democratic system of governance could be augmented or threatened by the way we practice capitalism? Are democratic system is threated through money. We are supposed to elect people that are supposed to help us and better ourselves as a unit but what really happens is the person that has the most money and can buy peoples votes will win the election because they have money. I think in politics there is no honor and people will do whatever they need to get ahead in life. There is no trust so whomever you vote for might not make the changes that need to be made in our community and in our life. How does capitalism require us to think about ourselves in relationship to other people and to institutions/corporations? When I think about are relationship between us and a institution I think we, as the United States, would help out a foreign country with their issues before we solve ours because we need what they are offering and when we have a war or issue with our own people what do we gain from actually solving the issues.
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Kassandra Mariscal
4/1/2015 07:50:27 am
For the first question, I basically said the same thing. That money can get people in and out of whatever they want and money is very powerful in politics. I don't think it's possible to be a politician without money. Money runs everything these days especially in politics. For the second question, I couldn't agree with you more. Politicians buy peoples votes with money and promises made to them if they get elected. More promises are made and kept for corporations rather than the people. It is such a shame in my eyes.
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Lesley C.
4/1/2015 09:49:19 am
I believe that our economic system is connected to our governing system because our government relies on how much people are consuming and how much money they are spending rather than actually caring for the people and trying to stop us from consuming so many horrible things. The government is no longer for the people but for the big corporations that give it billions of dollars. Since it isn't every person who is giving the government billions of dollars, the government has to listen and do the things the people say who are giving them billions of dollars cause if not then they will lose that money. Since the government only cares about money then they will do as they say and not care for the people like they are suppose to.
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Nathaniel Mani
4/3/2015 09:58:04 am
Hello lesley, I strongly agree with you opinions on how capitalist only think for themselves only. I also think that our government is already threatened by capitalism. Money talks in our society today. These politicians are puppets to these big private companies that are funding their campaigns. The bills that are being passed are only benefiting them
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Jose Fernandez
4/3/2015 01:52:51 pm
Hi Lesley,
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Jocelyn Chavez
4/1/2015 10:04:31 am
how do you think our economic system (capitalism) is connected to our governing system (representative democracy)? I think our economic system is connected to the governing system because Capitalism basically runs/controls everything including the government. The government is more concern to make sure everything works out for those people in higher power because of the 100 largest economies, 49 are government and 51 are corporations. After world war two corporations thought about two strategies planned obsolescence and perceived obsolesce. In other words the way everything functions now is as long as there's money flowing in out of the system everything is okay and as long as they keep the citizens buying everything is perfect for their profit.
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Maryjoyce Pascual
4/1/2015 11:11:21 am
Capitalism and democracy are ascendant in the third party. They essentially complement each other as defined that capitalism is expressed as the free market and democracy as ran by the people for the people. Perhaps it is possible that being in a democratic country created capitalism so that every man could have an equal opportunity to rise to some level of power. It also ties in together in the sense of currency. Money, in some ways means everything nowadays, more so when it comes to how we govern our country. Democracy creates capitalism and capitalism keeps democracy afloat.
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4/1/2015 11:13:52 am
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Nathaniel Mani
4/1/2015 01:14:20 pm
I think the way our economic system is connected to our governing system is by these big private companies that provide money to these politicians so once they get into government they are pushing laws and bills that support these big companies only because it was through these big companies that funded a politician campaign. It is kind of like I scratch your back and you scratch mine. I think almost all governments are somehow linked to these big private companies and in some cases are run by them. These politicians are just puppets. I believe the way our governed can be threatened or already is threatened by these capitalist is through money. Everybody knows money talks and whoever has the most money has the biggest say in the government I believe and these are the folks in the government listen too. When things like this happen it only benefits thee major private companies and the people are the ones that are suffering. The way capitalism makes us think about ourselves is by making decisions that only benefits us and not about others. In a way it makes us feel like we are not important at all to them and they see are only useful as laborers that is all. Capitalism makes us think about ourselves only and leaving out the community as for what they have to say. This is why people like us do not matter because we don’t have the money so our voices and views do not matter. This is why more money you have the more your opinions matter
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Jada Witherspoon
6/15/2015 10:23:26 am
I completely agree with you, and it is really sad, and defeats the purpose of the democracy that we supposedly have. When our elected officials that are supposed to be for the people only really listen the opinion of those that are lining their pockets. Lobbyist and those that support the big companies and CEO's in our country are the only ones that really get into our politicians ears and tell them what bills or laws should be passed to help the wealthy even more. I think it also stands that since many of our country's politicians are wealthy already it does not surprise me that they are more willing to help out the rich opposed to the middle class and poor of our country.
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Kimberly Lopez
4/1/2015 02:23:42 pm
It is a known fact that capitalism and democracy are interconnected; capitalism is the money engine and democracy makes sure the engine keeps running. I do not believe capitalism would exist at the extreme measures of today if the people who make up the democracy were to take a stand. If democracy were to put a halt in the overworked system then capitalism really would not have any choice but to make some type of drastic changes. Over the past several decades we have noticed our government system changing and as of right now what was a “healthy” balance between capitalism and democracy is now leaning significantly more toward capitalism. We have given up our freedom and have become slaves who work 24/7 with high amounts of pressure and stress only to pay for things we only use for a limited amount of hours before going to work again. We have given our lives away to people who are overly enjoying their lives by all the money and power they have. What is to say we haven’t become almost a joke to big corporate companies and politicians? In the video Story of Stuff it is clearly demonstrated of how this is so. What is more fascinating is while watching this video the entire time I could not stop agreeing and get upset at these cold facts but minutes after went on my phone and forgot about what I had just seen.
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Juanisha Elder
4/1/2015 03:15:38 pm
I agree with your frustration to Story of Stuff as I watched this I learned many new things that I never realized! I am known to always be shopping, working my two jobs and going to school. It made me realize how much influence the corporations have on me. I appreciate the word choice of being a joke but we have become more than a joke to them, “it’s like we are on a treadmill”. Every aspect and way you look at life the corporations are benefiting from us working for them, buying what they want us to buy, to being a toxin and not even knowing it. After watching that video to now writing this post I can admit I went and watched Netflix and after was so angry because I had just fueled the ongoing problem. It's so crazy how the corporations have such control and we see it but aren't stepping up. Just shows the cycle in action.
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Juanisha Elder
4/1/2015 02:25:36 pm
Our governing body is connected to our economic system 100%. Since watching “Story of Stuff” I have realized that everything in which we do is mainly based off how the capitalist wants the government to be. In the video it spoke about much warfare going on around the world and broadcast the real violence of the U.S., in many of those battles. Most the things said, I was unaware of. Being that the economic system have money they have power; power that they can tell us what they want, when they want.
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Juanisha Elder
4/1/2015 02:38:07 pm
I apologize not the video "Story of Stuff" the video from in class. I got side tracked/ mixed up from all the videos watched.
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Gloria Olea-Bailon
4/1/2015 02:46:46 pm
Nothing has really changed in the past few years because our economic system is still over powering many of the world wide issues. Capitalism is the center of all main issues since money is above all the number one way to get out off any situations. Connecting it to our representative democracy is simple because money is in power of how certain laws affects society. It's like they say in the movies money is power and money rules the world. Our democratic system is threatened by the way we practice capitalism due to all the negative impacts of the government. Meanwhile, and the institutions. The way our institutions are directing the economic system is corrupting since we have completely polluted our environment and the people in it. Money has been used in ways they are not needed to be spent. For instance, in the video of Story of Stuff one can see how money is used out of content. In the video I learned how money is being spent on things society does not need. Such as, electronics referring to the computers because we through away computers away because of the difference of memory. Its governments fault how on purpose they make us spend on things society thinks they need, but they don't. On the other hand the government is also putting in danger our society by creating toxins that have increased in numbers. For this reason many health diseases go around and therefore affect the health of others. Government make the people in need work and most of the time over work because they gain more money for not paying the employees full price. Overall, capitalism is is above all the main problem to todays issues because of how its affected negativity societies future and generations to come.
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Jocelyn Chavez
4/3/2015 03:57:32 pm
I agree with you over these past years nothing has changed and money has over ruled everything. As long as you have money you have power and with money you can buy yourself through anything. As long as democracy is connected with capitalism nothing is going to change and it's only going to get worse. The video did point out a few things that are going around and how everyone ignores it. I can't completely say that not one thing they said was wrong. Not to mention the governments treat us like their puppets because as long as they have the consumers buying their products everything is okay. As well as with money they can fix everything and cover everything with a band aid, but the band aid can only hold on for so long. Then everything they make for us to buy it only lasts a certain amount of time. So we can go back and buy more. It's sad because they only care about making more money and we don't matter.
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Marisa Lerma
4/1/2015 02:50:59 pm
I think that our economic system (capitalism) and our governing system (representative democracy) are both connected through consumption. From the video the “Story of Stuff” it is said that the corporations are bigger/ more important than our government, and I totally agree with that. Big corporations gain so much money and so much power that the government, our government, pays more attention to the corporations and makes sure that everything is going good for them, rather than taking care of us, the people. Money plays a huge role with this situation and if you have enough of it, you will get whatever you want. Corporations and the type media it produces makes us believe that we need to keep buying things that are considered the “latest trends” in order to stay current with society; its normal now to throw out things that are still usable, in order to buy the new/hot item. Our democratic system of governance is threatened by capitalism because money is everything. The way it works is whoever has the most money, gets to decide what to do. That’s just how it is and it’s not right. Many politicians buy their way in because they can, because they have the money to do so and they use it to get their votes. Capitalism requires us to think less of ourselves, like we don’t really matter. It seems like they just use us for their own benefits. Since money is the main issue, I feel like only the ones with the most money are the most important, and those who have less of it think of themselves as less important. Like if we don’t have tons of money, we have nothing to offer.
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Karina Vences
4/1/2015 02:53:47 pm
Our economic system is interrelated with our governing system in several ways and it seems as if both feed of off each other. The common denominator here seems to be the addiction the world has seemed to adopt which is: consuming. Yes, our default governing system is representative democracy, however there is a catch to this. The catch is that the people have “freedom” but in return the people are the middleman between corporations and the government and we unconsciously play a huge role in the consumption process. Yes, our people have “freedom” and it is up to the people to decide. On the other hand, the catch here is the way our economic system – capitalism – is set up. In the video Story and Stuff is it mentioned how our capitalistic world has unconsciously caused people to become consumers. There are several problems here not just that the world may never know how to function in an non-capitalistic way, but that unfortunately consuming can even have a negative effect on the planet (an example being pollution etc.) In my opinion democracy is in reality a distraction to the people and unfortunately people live in ease and are happy the way they live. Why can’t democracy be for the people (as it should be) instead for the money? There seems to be an odd relationship between both that seems like one has to exist in order for the other to do so as well. Clearly our governing system is being taken advantage of by our economic system.
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Tanee Asberry
4/2/2015 03:02:02 pm
I agree that our government system and or economic system feeds off of each other but I don’t think that is should adapt to these changes I think that it needs to be separate for us to have us some actual change in our government and wants the rights that we deserve. I agree when you say democracy is a distraction, but only to people who are naive or just don’t pay attention to details.
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Gloria Olea
4/3/2015 05:17:38 am
I agree with your statement in that both institutions coincide with each other. Not only do they have come up with a not so strategic way to run capitalism but also in that strategy affected our present economic stituations as well. Both institutions have managed to create a society in which the government makes consumers buy. By this I mean create a society in where people think they need everything of the latest trends because if not they are thought of not accepting modern society. Overall I agree with how the government has diminished the meaning of democracy.
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Tionne Johnson
4/1/2015 03:18:39 pm
Capitalism is connected to our governing system because those who have more money have more power. And as a result of that those with more money have more leverage when it comes to lawmaking. So these laws will of course favor the people in power and their views as opposed to ensuring equality and protecting the freedoms of all people despite their financial status. In the video “Does Capitalism Exploit Workers?” it mentions that mutually beneficial exchanges are necessary for the growth of a society as a whole. Our society does not work like this as a result of the way we practice capitalism. Instead of the beneficial exchanges being mutual, the wealthy in positions of powers ensure that economic gains benefit them for the most part. So because of this our democratic system is threatened by the way we practice capitalism. Because as one group is gaining all of these benefits and advancing we have the rest that are just deteriorating. But the deterioration of the lower class will not only affect that class but it will affect everyone. In order to ensure a stable economy everyone needs to be taken care of. But the people in position of power are passing these bills that seem just on their face but are meant to discriminate or exploit others below them. Capitalism requires us to measure our worth by how much money or property we have. Sometimes big wealthy corporations can make those in lower positions of power feel insignificant and inferior. The lower class feels threatened by those in positions of power because they feel as since they are below the poverty line that they have no voice. People who make decisions about the lives of the lower class do not actually ask the people they’re making laws for what they think. So as a result it is a cycle of oppression because money is power.
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Jesika L.
4/1/2015 03:28:03 pm
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Ryan Tayahua
4/1/2015 03:28:16 pm
Our current capitalistic economy is connected to our governing system because as the cliché says, “money makes the world go ‘round”. Politicians need money to run and organize campaigns and look to big businesses to help fund said campaigns. In return these politicians create and vote on legislation in favor of these corporations and therefore the people are not being represented fairly. Our government is intended to be by the people, of the people and for the people but we have replaced the word people with business. Recently, instead of creating legislation in favor of education, health care, or sustainability to help our country progress and help the people, a new budget plan was passed to cut taxes for large corporations and the rich and repeal the Affordable Care Act.
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Sujla McKinney
4/1/2015 03:41:25 pm
I believe our economic system of capitalism and governing system of democracy go hand in hand. Since the beginning by decree of, “of the people, by the people, and for the people”. We as people want equality and freedom. The government lets us choose and pick our laws by our voices. Capitalism lets businesses and companies make their own decisions about how to produce, what to produce and when to produce a product. The ownership of a private property is capitalism without any government interference. If we were a communist country then the government have control of all private properties, giving the government too much power over money supply. Democracy is threatened by entrepreneurs setting whatever prices they want. This is a system where the rich can get richer and the poor get poorer. In addition, we support laws on a worker labor where we get paid living wages and the amount of time we work is correlated to our pay. The government regulates the needs and wants of labor with minimum wage. Also, the government taxes us to keep control of the economy, but our taxes are used mostly on our military. We do not agree with that, and is thus against the will of the people. Capitalism requires us to think of our relation to others to obtain equality. Businesses that think about themselves often lead to monopolies of power that exploit their position to charge higher prices and paying lower wages. When intent is on maximum profit, they will not consider the negative external damages caused.
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Erika Briseno
4/1/2015 03:46:47 pm
I think our economic and governing systems are connected because they could not work if they were by themselves. Capitalism allows us to be free, economically speaking, and have the possibilities to have a better standard of life if we work to achieve our economic goals. If this country was run under another economic system, we would not have the freedom that we enjoy today. However, we are not totally free because government plays a huge role in the economic system. Our government is involved by setting certain regulations in the economic system that allow us to be safe. For example, our government has set property rights, therefore no one can steal our ideas and use them as their own. Here is where democracy is connected with capitalism.
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Karina Vences
4/3/2015 04:47:00 am
Hello Erika. I completely agree with your claim of our economic and governing system being connected. I liked how you mentioned that “the people” aren’t entirely free for the reason that the government plays a huge role in the way our economic system is. I believe our claims were similar and you’ve also contributed some insight to my opinions I had about our governing and economic system (for example: social economic classes).
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Ashley De La Paz
4/1/2015 03:48:27 pm
Our economic system has a huge connection with our governing system just by reading and watching the materials for the blog, I was able to come to this conclusion. Example, elections are held so we the people can pick a representative, while no one thinks about how these campaigns are paid for. Many of our representatives take donations, which leads to the donor’s voice being hear and having their way with the government, and this is exactly why our democratic system can and could be threatened by the way capitalism in run in our country.As long as our government continues to answer to corporations for their money, huge corporations will always have the upper hand with the government, which may not leave most of us with any great choices for the rest of the county. Since we have become use to our ways of practicing capitalism, our government can and could be threatened by this because of the government agree with these corporations for their money, who’s’ to say that they won’t one day run the government themselves, if they already aren’t. Since capitalism becomes to play a huge role in the government, we need to think how all their actions will affect the rest of us. We need to think about how capitalism uses us for their benefit and how they are the ones who are actually benefits from the system. Our system functions on consumerism. Our main relationship with corporations is based on consumption, consuming products and putting money into the pockets of big corporations. We need think about the role we play with these corporations, we are the ones who consume, which gives the corporation the power, we must realize how much power we actually have and how we can take control.
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Britney Yarbrough
4/1/2015 04:12:49 pm
Hey Ashley,
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Rocio SOto
4/2/2015 10:15:13 am
Hey Ashley!
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amal pujol
4/1/2015 04:42:52 pm
Capitalism seeks the interest of those with the capital or gains and democracy seeks the interest of those without capital. The two systems are essentially contradictory to one and other. Capitalism does exploit both the environment and works for wealth. According to Piketty, capitalism possesses forces that pose a threat to democratic societies. The workers are not fairly for the amount of work that the do. Also humans are exploited when companies externalize production cost by using materials from other countries such as oil in the Middle East or mining metals in Africa. The lives of workers is compromised by exposure to chemicals in the process of producing goods in Factories. The environment is also exploited in the use of raw materials. The US now only has 4% of trees left.
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Kasey
4/2/2015 11:49:27 am
Hey Amal, I completely agree with you about humans being exploited. Many humans are knowledgeable about what goes on in the world, mainly about how things are being made and what not but aren't exactly doing anything about it. There are children in different countries making our products and we're paying so little for what w'ere truly paying. Cause the price of the things we buy don't amount to the hard work that gets put into to creating the product let alone the actions it take for it to get into our hands. And our environment is being used up and despite how many people fight for the discontinuation of exploiting the environment, nothing really gets done. More hazards are being created for humans by other humans and we need to stop this now. Or else it'll just keep getting worse.
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Nando Tovar
4/1/2015 04:46:34 pm
In regards to the correlation between capitalism and democracy, it is fairly distinct. Capitalism strives on private interest and property as a principle. Democracy is more concerned with a more equal construction of extending rights to all citizens. Both of these concepts are logically supposed to coexist. However, history has shown that private interest is much more influential in deciding what is “fair”. Our democratic system is often affected by corporations’ secret agendas. In many cases, people are paid off to turn the other cheek or protect corporate entities. Because of this unfortunate cycle, democracy is merely an illusion. Yes, there are laws that apply to all citizens. Everyone is entitled to vote. Everyone has these freedoms to consume in America in so many different ways. Some companies exercise their protocols in a manner that some would consider is above the law. Money is the blindfold that enforcement will wear until the money is gone or the problem that was ignored is too big to cover up. Capitalism makes us constantly view other people’s contribution to this collective consumption. In the Story of Stuff, there is a segment that discusses just this. People look at what other people have, what they have, what is going to be made available, what is desirable, etc. Corporations and companies create ads to make us unhappy with what we currently own so that we feel encouraged to “upgrade”. As a society, we are in constant motion with the flow of capital interest. We buy newer, then dispose of the obsolete.
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Rocio Soto
4/2/2015 10:19:03 am
Hello Nando, I love that as I began to read your post, I was getting heated up about how capitalism and our democratic system are "fairly" distinct". But then as I kept reading I realized, you are right. They are different but they feed off of one another. Your post had me feeling "some type of way". If i'd choose anyone to describe this, i'd pick you. You have a simple way of describing this. Thank you for that.
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Luis Julian Cardenas
4/1/2015 04:50:03 pm
Some may argue that capitalism has brought an evolutionary economy, causing huge margins of profit for those that hold the means of production. Realistically, the United States could have never been as rich and as it is now without creating a system of relations between the bourgeoisie (those who hold the means of production) and the proletariat (those who work for a living wage). Capitalism does some good, but sadly hinders the democratic process of any nation that accepts its system as the economic motor of its nation. A competing country, within the country and internationally, in order to stay competitive must keep feeding a capitalistic system. This hinders democracy in many ways, much like the video “the story of stuff” states, the government becomes more concerned about corporations. The government should reflect the needs of the people, governing the democratic (realistically; republic) decisions made by the people, for the people. Nowadays, corporations through lobbying, PAC’s and funding become a deciding factor for legislative decisions.
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Erika Briseno
4/2/2015 03:52:47 pm
I think you gave good points and facts about how the U.S. government works. Money for political campaigns coming from all different corporations plays an important role in how our politicians are going to behave when they get into power. Since they have to keep "happy" their money providers, government officials do not have to state regulations that will affect big corporations, if they do, officials have to forget about the financial help coming from them.
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Luis Julian Cardenas
4/3/2015 10:37:10 am
Hey Erika, I just want to understand what you are trying to say. So, you believe that if U.S. and Cuba were to be compared, that the U.S. would obviously be much more successful economically because of capitalism?
Luis Julian Cardenas
4/4/2015 11:18:39 am
Hey Erika, I just want to understand what you are trying to say. So, you believe that if U.S. and Cuba were to be compared, that the U.S. would obviously be much more successful economically because of capitalism?
Luis Lockhart
4/1/2015 04:56:03 pm
Capitalism and democracy are connected because capitalism can easily exploit democracy. Corporations are able to buy politicians to influence government decisions so that any attempt at regulation is actually in favor of the corporations without people noticing it.
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Jesika L.
4/3/2015 04:37:33 pm
Luis, I really like what you said about consumers having false power because it is true. We buy what is advertised to us by corporations and we buy what they put out on the market. According to economicshelps.org, they define a capitalist economic system as "one characterised by free markets and the absense of government intervention in the economy," which as we have seen in practice, is definitely not true. The government does many things like putting taxes on products, bails out big companies when they need it, etc so in this way the government is intervening on our economy.
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amal pujol
4/3/2015 05:01:18 pm
Hi Luis,
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Asia Gamble
4/1/2015 04:57:08 pm
Capitalism and democracy are extremely connected. The government uses capitalism to control the people in its society. Every government needs money to operate. The money is used for political campaigns and politicians’ paychecks. Once those politicians are elected more money is needed to make decisions that are supposed to be for the greater good of the people, like for education, the environment, equal rights, the military etc. However, politicians seem to be more focused on the amount of money they're getting than what they actually need to be doing with that many. In the Story of Stuff it showed how the majority of politicians’ money comes from big businesses and the wealthy.
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Nando Tovar
4/2/2015 04:46:11 pm
I completely agree with you that money is not only a link between democracy and capitalism, but the foundation of it all. The principles in which we practice democracy as a nation hinders our ability to truly fulfill the concepts of a democratic system and capitalism. Our power as a majority is limited. Because this is the case, these two concepts are unable to properly coexist. I really like what you were writing about. You clearly have a very solid stance on the matter.
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Inderpuneet Shergill
4/3/2015 02:02:50 pm
Hey Asia
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Gaby Ruiz
4/1/2015 04:59:21 pm
I believe that our economic system, capitalism, and our governing system, representative democracy, collates with one another in the sense that essentially our economic system owns the governing system. We are taught that we are the people making the changes around here when in reality the “people” running this country is not the people at all… it’s a handful of old white men with the same ideologies as their ancestors who stole this country from the Native Americans. In the first video about “Story of Stuff” was a real eye opener. It was clearly shown that essentially the corporations own the government. The government has to keep them happy so they can keep getting the corporations monies. Our supposedly representative democracy could be turned into something much worse if we continue to let it be run by the way we are practicing capitalism. Thanks to capitalism we feel embarrassed when we don’t have the latest and greatest newest items out on the market. It makes us feel the need to work harder for stuff we don’t need and cant afford but we need to keep up with everything that’s new in technology and fashion and cars so we keep the cycle going. We keep working shit jobs to maintain these idealistic lifestyles. It makes us feel lower when compared to other people who have more than us. Thanks to capitalism this is just an ongoing continuous cycle and us following is exactly what the big corporations want us to do. Capitalism requires us to just consume, consume, consume, all these products, which we don’t even really need. So what if you don’t have the newest iphone 6 you throwing out your old one even if its still perfectly functional is exactly what they want you to do… but don’t fall for it.
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Vicky Marquez
4/3/2015 03:06:17 pm
Hello Gaby,
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Breanna F.
4/1/2015 06:11:05 pm
The relationship between capitalism and democracy is the very reason the wedge between America’s social classes is so wide. For reference, capitalism is a system in which trade, industries, and the means of production are mostly, if not entirely, owned by private corporations. These privately owned corporations are known for cashing out on a ridiculous amount of profit. Owners are aware that financial goals can be met because capitalism supports competitive markets. Democracy is a form of government that is supposed to focus on the good of the people- equality. Everyone in America is supposed to be given the same opportunity when it comes to climbing up the social ladder. However, since capitalism is based upon the highest wages having the most influence upon the government, then everything democracy stands for is left for questioning.
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Ryan Tayahua
4/3/2015 06:19:11 am
Hey Breanna!
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Sujla McKinney
4/3/2015 04:20:09 pm
Hello Breanna,
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Jose Fernandez
4/3/2015 01:40:47 pm
Our economic system is closely related to our governing system because our government chooses to emphasize a capitalistic market and encourage free trade solutions to domestic and international issues. I believe that capitalism has changed the face of democratic values by asserting that the only way in which our nation can succeed is through means of a “Material Economy”. In doing so, citizen’s give up individual ideologies and are subjected to corporate thought. These corporate thoughts ensure that people remain unaware of their place within society and remain unaware of the social construction that revolves around them. As soon as citizens buy into social constructions they give up social liberties that make them vulnerable to large corporations. For instance, government spending has increasingly been allocated towards the military with minuscule considerations made to the livelihoods of many U.S. citizens (Story of Stuff).
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Britney Yarbrough
4/7/2015 07:41:46 am
Blog Post # 2
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Ashley De La Paz
4/8/2015 03:51:48 pm
In our public school system we are told about how the Americas was found by a great man, who sailed the world to find a new land. We are taught that Columbus came here to search for gold and riches, and he met the Indians and they all got along with one another. We learned about less than of the actual story about this man that we dedicate a whole day to. In Zinn’s version of Columbus’ is very different from what most people are used to hearing, it is not your usual view of Columbus or short and summarize version. Zinn’s talks about how important this trip was to Columbus, he explains the promises Columbus had made with Spain, which said, that he would not come back empty handed. Once he arrived to the Americans we are told that Columbus that learned and got along with the Indian, but Zinn’s explain how the actual relationship was between Columbus and the natives actually was. Traditionally we do not hear much about the relationship between Columbus and the natives was, but Zinn’s goes into detail about it. Explaining what Columbus thought about them, how they were naïve and were not modern, and most importantly the author mentions how Columbus took advantage of the Indians. Throughout the first chapter we see the actual actions and intentions that Columbus had. We might think that his actions were motivated because of all the commitments he had before he went on his trip, and he knew that he could not fail because he would be punished if he did.
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Ryan Tayahua
4/11/2015 06:35:57 am
Hey Ashley I like how you mentioned in your blog that this trip was more important to Columbus rather than to find a new world. I think he was very selfish and maybe even embellished his findings to gain riches and fame. This is just an open question, why do you think we celebrate him while we are younger?
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ALICIA L
6/15/2015 06:22:39 pm
I think that our economic system is connected to our government through corruption. By definition, a democracy is supposed to have representatives that represent the people. Unfortunately, in reality, we have a “democracy” that represents those who have deep pockets. People who have a lot of capital, also have a lot of influence in our government.
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