Another criticism of democracy, which is usually advanced by the Nocialists, is that it is capitalistic and favours the richer classes. It is also pointed out that democratic States are dominated by the landlords, industrialists, financiers and big businessmen. Hence democracy is regarded IS an instrument of domination and exploitation of the poorer classes by the ncher classes. There is, indeed, a great element of truth in this criticism, as the nature and working of the governments of the democracies of Western Europe and America show us.
The representatives who sit in the legislatures me generally the moneyed men, because they alone can foot the election hills. In U.S.A. most of the Senators and many members of the House of Representatives come from the richer classes because they alone can pay the huge expenses of electioneering. Another reason is that political parties are financed by the richer classes. In Britain, it is said, the Bank of England rules the country. Likewise, the American brand of democracy is called “Dollar Democracy”. Finally, all the means and agencies of public opinion and propaganda, i.e., the newspapers, the radio, the cinema, educational institutions etc., are in the hands of capitalist classes who mould public mind and opinion in their own interests.
Lord Bryce, who made a thorough study of modern democracies, came to the conclusion that the influence of money perverts legislation and administration. In Western democracies, a recent development of capitalist domination is the use of pressure groups of economic interests such as farming, armament, liquor, and especially banking and finance. Hence it is said that in theory the people are the sovereign, but in practice the true ruler is the Finance. The Western democracies have also been imperialistic, warlike and aggressive. They conquered and enslaved many countries and nations in Asia and Africa in the name of freedom.