The American system of government is a republic, which means that the people select representatives who then manage and govern the nation.

Speaking practically, however, we consider the United States a democracy, since the people elect their representatives, those representatives are considered ultimately responsible to the people, and those representatives are supposed to generally govern and manage the way their constituents--the people who elected them--want them to. Thus, even in a republic, it is fair to see the people, themselves--us--as in control.

However, modern-day democracy is in grave danger of implosion, for at least four reasons:

1. We lack the time. Under modern capitalism we are forced to spend so much of our time working, that we simply lack the time required to acquire the knowledge necessary to provide continuous and meaningful input in the running of our nation. And we're so worn-out from work that, even in what little spare time we have we are simply too tired to devote ourselves to the knowledge and information acquisition required for meaningful self-governance. too tired to read, study, think, reflect, converse, debate, or engage in any of the other activities required self-governance.

2. We lack the ability. Social critics have long decried the inability of Americans, especially children, to "think critically." In other words, to think deeply about information they are exposed to, in order to understand its real meaning, and whether it comprises an honest argument, or is an attempt at prevarication or equivocation.

   Thus, even if we are inclined toward devoting time toward activities of self-governance, most of us generally lack of ability to think critically, and will be unable to properly negotiate the required bodies of information.

3. We lack the interest. Most of us do not involve ourselves in political matters because we feel that our participation does not matter that much. In fact, this vaguely intuitive sentiment is correct:  under an economic and social system that is clearly, explicitly, and unapologetically controlled by profit-seeking corporations for their benefit, our participation does not matter that much.

   We, the people, are not stupid.

   We know when we're being scammed, and unfortunately, at this point in our history--we're being scammed.

4. Capitalism and the corrupting influence of money go together. No matter what nominal attempts our politicians make to shield the political process from the pernicious and corruputing influence of money, it somehow always finds its way back into the process. Like a stream running downhill, money always flows into the nooks, crannies, and other channels of least resistance. Money gains influence for the powerful, which distorts the representative process, and eviscerates the power of the people to make their wishes known, and have their representatives govern accordingly.

Of course, as severe and disturbing as these growing realities are in their erosion of our existing democratic system, none of them actually speak to the worst flaw our implementation of democracy suffers, the one that has been characteristic of it since its inception two centuries ago.

For its many virtues, the great flaw in the American system is that our control of the nation, and of ourselves, effectively ends the moment we walk through the front door of our workplace. While at work, we lose all control of our destiny--we have few rights, and we do what the "boss" orders us to, or we lose our job, which means we lose our income. Which means we lose our ability to survive as human beings.

All of which means that we are, effectively, slaves.

Under modern capitalism, then, we have only partial democracy:  we have political democracy, in that we vote for our political representatives such as senators and presidents, but we do NOT have economic democracy. Which means that we have no control whatsoever over issues of jobs, pay, hours, intensity of work, frequency of work, working conditions, economic development, and similar issues.

Ask yourself this question:  what good is a vote every six years for a senator--if you can't pay your mortgage? What good is a vote every four years for a president--if you've gotten cancer because corporations have polluted your environment? What good is a vote every few years for a new mayor--if your job has been exported to China or India where labor is cheaper, and you're now unemployed?

And politicians are only able to tinker around the edges of the economy; they cannot effect any sort of dramatic and permanent change. We all know this.

Clearly, in the modern age the important questions--the ones that affect our lives most profoundly--are the economic questions, not the political ones. Yet, our power as citizens is still based on the long-outdated notion of political power and control, NOT economic power and control! This must be changed, to bring our power as citizens in line with the present-day character, nature, and reality of the modern, global economy.

In fact, the extension of power and control from the political to the economic is exactly what we will have in a cooperative society! It is part of the very definition of this radically new, powerful, and liberating kind of system!