By Brian Teucke
This moment in U.S. history, defined by rising authoritarianism, extreme wealth inequality, and the withering away of participatory democracy, is not a glitch in the system. Rather, it is the very design of our system. It is simply the next evolutionary stage of our nation’s political economy—capitalism.
A helpful definition of capitalism comes from the Oxford Dictionary, which defines the term as “an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.” In other words, we live in a society in which government and the economy are linked, and in which the production of goods and services exists primarily to generate wealth, not to satisfy the basic needs—or even the wants—of the people.
As a community, we can certainly look around us and notice the many people whose needs go unmet. We look at what’s happening in our country and community and feel emotions of despair and shock, asking ourselves: “How did we possibly get to this point?” How did we get to the point where this country has over 650,000 unhoused people, the most ever in our history? How did we get to the point where over 25 million Americans have no health insurance and 66% of all bankruptcies result from medical debt? How did we get to the point where the three richest Americans collectively hold more wealth than the bottom 50% of the population combined? Instead of making our society better, why is capitalism making things worse, especially for marginalized communities?
If we’re going to be honest with ourselves, we might do well to accept the fact that under capitalism, this is supposed to be the way things turned out—and maybe, just maybe, consider that a better form of political economy is possible.
Where we are in U.S. history could be defined as the era of Citizens United—the 2010 landmark Supreme Court case that opened the floodgates for corporate wealth to enter our elections. If one were to compare the election cycles of 2008 and 2024, they would find that campaign contributions from corporate interests increased from $534 million to $4.5 billion—a tenfold increase in the post-Citizens decision era. This influence has largely alienated the will of the people from the will of their representatives.
In the Citizens United era, both Democratic- and Republican-controlled congresses have prevented highly favorable legislative issues from becoming law. These include policies such as Medicare for All (60%+ favorability), paid family leave (70%+ favorability), and, ironically, the overturning of Citizens United itself (80% favorability). As such, has capitalism strengthened our democracy, or turned it into an oligarchy?
Again, when a society’s political economy is built to generate and concentrate wealth rather than satisfy the needs and will of the people, we shouldn’t be surprised that the Citizens United decision was issued or that the ever-growing wealth of the capitalist class has solidified its control over our country’s representatives. A lot of folks I speak with, from a variety of demographic groups, think that their vote or their voice does not matter. Given the conditions explained in this essay, who could blame them for that viewpoint? The lack of trust in our system could explain why 90 million eligible voters did not vote in the 2024 election or why less than a third of Americans approve of either the Democrats or Republicans.
And for those who choose to engage the system, another concern presents itself. Historically, fascism often emerges as a logical step in capitalist societies because, when economic crises and inequality move working people to challenge the system, elites turn to authoritarian nationalism, the scapegoating of immigrants, and repression to preserve their wealth and power. Does any of that sound familiar?
You may be fed up with the doom and gloom at this point and are wondering if it’s worth continuing to the end of this article. But as they say in the labor movement: Don’t despair—organize! Together, we can build a more just system than the one we are forced to settle for under capitalism.
As a Matthew 25 congregation, Westminster Presbyterian sponsors several programs to address the carnage of capitalism and bring people together for collective change. For those in our neighborhood who find it difficult to satisfy their basic needs, we offer a monthly personal care pantry as well as food, shelter, and personal care items every Friday through the “Safe and Warm” program—just to name a few. We lovingly invite those looking for a church home, or those who simply want to help neighbors in need, to contact the church if they feel moved to volunteer.
Last but not least, our community is filled with organizations helping the victims of capitalism and bringing community members together to take back our democracy. I co-chair Worth Uniting Cayuga (WUC)—a grassroots coalition of progressive groups and people working to create a true and independent people’s assembly, representative of all the neighborhoods in Auburn and all the towns in Cayuga County. We do this to build democracy from below, independent from the corruption of capitalism and the two-party system underserving our country. Fantastic organizations such as Indivisible Cayuga, the Cayuga County NAACP, and Cayuga Climate Action are just a few of the coalition members in WUC.
That’s the good news, friends—people are organizing, and they’re eager for you to join them. If you’re one of the people who have understandably given up on our system but know there’s something better, there’s a home for you in one of the many organizations in our community aimed at restoring democracy and helping those in need. Together, we the people—not the corporate-influenced Democrats and Republicans—are the only chance to make America truly a nation of We the People, not We the Wealthy.
To do better, it merits repeating: Don’t despair—organize!
-Brian Teucke
WUC Co-Chair and Elder at Westminster Presbyterian
[email protected]
This moment in U.S. history, defined by rising authoritarianism, extreme wealth inequality, and the withering away of participatory democracy, is not a glitch in the system. Rather, it is the very design of our system. It is simply the next evolutionary stage of our nation’s political economy—capitalism.
A helpful definition of capitalism comes from the Oxford Dictionary, which defines the term as “an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.” In other words, we live in a society in which government and the economy are linked, and in which the production of goods and services exists primarily to generate wealth, not to satisfy the basic needs—or even the wants—of the people.
As a community, we can certainly look around us and notice the many people whose needs go unmet. We look at what’s happening in our country and community and feel emotions of despair and shock, asking ourselves: “How did we possibly get to this point?” How did we get to the point where this country has over 650,000 unhoused people, the most ever in our history? How did we get to the point where over 25 million Americans have no health insurance and 66% of all bankruptcies result from medical debt? How did we get to the point where the three richest Americans collectively hold more wealth than the bottom 50% of the population combined? Instead of making our society better, why is capitalism making things worse, especially for marginalized communities?
If we’re going to be honest with ourselves, we might do well to accept the fact that under capitalism, this is supposed to be the way things turned out—and maybe, just maybe, consider that a better form of political economy is possible.
Where we are in U.S. history could be defined as the era of Citizens United—the 2010 landmark Supreme Court case that opened the floodgates for corporate wealth to enter our elections. If one were to compare the election cycles of 2008 and 2024, they would find that campaign contributions from corporate interests increased from $534 million to $4.5 billion—a tenfold increase in the post-Citizens decision era. This influence has largely alienated the will of the people from the will of their representatives.
In the Citizens United era, both Democratic- and Republican-controlled congresses have prevented highly favorable legislative issues from becoming law. These include policies such as Medicare for All (60%+ favorability), paid family leave (70%+ favorability), and, ironically, the overturning of Citizens United itself (80% favorability). As such, has capitalism strengthened our democracy, or turned it into an oligarchy?
Again, when a society’s political economy is built to generate and concentrate wealth rather than satisfy the needs and will of the people, we shouldn’t be surprised that the Citizens United decision was issued or that the ever-growing wealth of the capitalist class has solidified its control over our country’s representatives. A lot of folks I speak with, from a variety of demographic groups, think that their vote or their voice does not matter. Given the conditions explained in this essay, who could blame them for that viewpoint? The lack of trust in our system could explain why 90 million eligible voters did not vote in the 2024 election or why less than a third of Americans approve of either the Democrats or Republicans.
And for those who choose to engage the system, another concern presents itself. Historically, fascism often emerges as a logical step in capitalist societies because, when economic crises and inequality move working people to challenge the system, elites turn to authoritarian nationalism, the scapegoating of immigrants, and repression to preserve their wealth and power. Does any of that sound familiar?
You may be fed up with the doom and gloom at this point and are wondering if it’s worth continuing to the end of this article. But as they say in the labor movement: Don’t despair—organize! Together, we can build a more just system than the one we are forced to settle for under capitalism.
As a Matthew 25 congregation, Westminster Presbyterian sponsors several programs to address the carnage of capitalism and bring people together for collective change. For those in our neighborhood who find it difficult to satisfy their basic needs, we offer a monthly personal care pantry as well as food, shelter, and personal care items every Friday through the “Safe and Warm” program—just to name a few. We lovingly invite those looking for a church home, or those who simply want to help neighbors in need, to contact the church if they feel moved to volunteer.
Last but not least, our community is filled with organizations helping the victims of capitalism and bringing community members together to take back our democracy. I co-chair Worth Uniting Cayuga (WUC)—a grassroots coalition of progressive groups and people working to create a true and independent people’s assembly, representative of all the neighborhoods in Auburn and all the towns in Cayuga County. We do this to build democracy from below, independent from the corruption of capitalism and the two-party system underserving our country. Fantastic organizations such as Indivisible Cayuga, the Cayuga County NAACP, and Cayuga Climate Action are just a few of the coalition members in WUC.
That’s the good news, friends—people are organizing, and they’re eager for you to join them. If you’re one of the people who have understandably given up on our system but know there’s something better, there’s a home for you in one of the many organizations in our community aimed at restoring democracy and helping those in need. Together, we the people—not the corporate-influenced Democrats and Republicans—are the only chance to make America truly a nation of We the People, not We the Wealthy.
To do better, it merits repeating: Don’t despair—organize!
-Brian Teucke
WUC Co-Chair and Elder at Westminster Presbyterian
[email protected]
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