Liberal democracy

I was asked "How does companies like Monsanto, Bayer, big oil, etc. fit into the picture of liberal democracy?  There is nothing democratic about the reach of their power and their influence over our society. "

One thing that got me interested in human governance is the contradictions we live with, that we espouse democracy but yet we don't always practise it. Liberal democracy is a great example of a contradictory system. And what caught my attention is that the world is contradictory by nature and would not function  well without it. As the ancient Greek philosopher Hericlitus observed, you do away with contradiction you do away with reality. Hegel also understood this and followed with his dialectic.  What is significant to me is that liberal democracy captures and harnesses this contradiction so that it acts in a positive way, and be as mutually beneficial and inclusive as possible. But this contradiction invariable brings with it flaws and perversions.

Human nature is inherently flawed and perverse. The flawed part goes without saying but the perverse aspect is not so easily understood. By perverse I mean the irony of things, like we do the wrong thing for the right reason or most often learn by doing the wrong thing first and then doing the right thing after. In a sense we learn by doing the opposite or in a backwards fashion. It's the same thing with liberal democracy. But liberal democracy doesn't deny its existence or tries to abolish it like authoritarian regimes have tried (in attempts to create utopian societies) but tempers and contains it in order that it work for the betterment of the whole.  

Hegel talked about keeping things alive and awake, preventing them from atrophying. Liberal democracy is a governing system based on two philosophies, materialism and idealism ( authoritarianism is unipolar), liberal being the material part and democracy the ideal. They are two ideas about how people should be governed.  They clash. But they clash in a positive way. Together they constitute the DNA or the double helix of human governance. They challenge each other in order to stay alive and awake so that they don't atrophy. This does not make for a perfect system but for a working system  because of the networking and  feedback system it employs. This networking helps people keep in touch and communicating, thus enhancing the deliberative process of democracy. 

The corporate world is the liberal part of liberal /democracy. Liberal also stands for 'capitalism', which the corporate world is part of. In many respects it does not act democratically because of  its entrenched self-interests. But perversely and ironically it keeps the democracy aspect of liberal/democracy alive and awake, as does democracy in turn keep the liberal aspect from completely taking over. Each aspect keeps the other from going overboard and completely dominating the system or our lives. The corporate world also gives democracy something to work with. It introduces issues of democratic importance that would otherwise not be raised. But most import, it keeps things churning so that the system does not succumb to entropy and collapse like communism did. The relationship is all about renewal and rejuvenation, through the antagonism each directs at the other.

Democracy was never given to us on a silver platter. It has had to be fought for and won, mostly by material means. The  material, liberal aspect  has helped us gain and keep it. But it is like a tug-of-war. And it's always a balancing act to preserve the gains. The corporate, capitalist world acts in a selfish manner and does things that gets the ire of democrats. But without this irritant democracy would most like languish and atrophy. Corporatism also brings a discipline to the proceedings that democracy would not likely have on its own.

Ironically corporatism and big companies has helped entrench democracy. They have developed many of the communication tools that have expanded democracy, like newspapers, television, movies and computers. They have expanded work forces all over the world thus empowering people by helping them with material gains and thus giving them a voice in the community. (We can see this happening in China, as happened in South Korea and Taiwan) Corporations have expanded people's choices and therefore democratic rights. They have helped break down social barriers towards employing women, gays and minorities, which has translated into broader social changes. 

Corporations haven't done any of this out of the goodness of their hearts but for pragmatic reasons, that it's good for business and the bottom line. And this highlights the perverseness of the democratic process, that you need  selfish, undemocratic institutions in order to rightfully gain and entrench democratic principles. For instance, the end of segregation in America would not have occurred if African-Americans were not first employed by corporations. The material gains they received from corporations empower and embolden them to demand equal rights. From this legislation followed, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Democracy is always a work in progress and capitalism is one of the perverse mechanisms that keeps it proceeding and progressing.