Governance and economy: a relationship of mutual dependency, where one is the boss (and it's not us)
The economy was once a driver of democracy. Now it poses a threat. Through its values and methods, it permeates all areas of society, destroying the social and ecological fabric of our communities.
No elite, whether political or religious, is conceivable without an economic surplus to finance it. The invention of agriculture was central to building communities that specialized in various disciplines and responsibilities. Only by creating an agricultural surplus was it possible for people to step back from the daily struggle for survival and establish domains such as governance, spirituality, and art. Thus, from the very beginning of their existence, governance and economy have intertwined in a relationship of mutual dependency. Over the course of millennia, this relationship has shaped both aspects and has been constantly evolving.
The key steps that led to the development of our current democracy are inconceivable without the economy. In various countries, the formation of a wealthy bourgeoisie allowed this class to demand democratic and participatory rights from the monarchy. Merchants and craftsmen were able to do so simply because they had the economic strength, and the government was dependent on them. Democracy was possible only through the economy.
But this has changed in recent decades. With the advent in the last century of a global development we know as neoliberalism, the economy entered almost all domains of social life, along with its values, principles, and hidden agendas. Instead of supporting democracy, it is now a significant—if not central—threat to it.
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Let us talk about a few aspects of this threat:
Imperialism and empire-building are impossible without the global economy. It rendered central services like privatized warfare, land robbing, plunder, and the creation of slavery. Those structures are not gone. We have to deal with their consequences. What's more, we still use them, although they may be dressed in different clothes.
Political decisions enabled the rise of multinational corporations. These corporations now hold power that is unmatched by any equivalent in government. Instead, we observe that these corporations create their own laws, occupy public spaces, and shape the direction of entire societies and nations.
Gross National Product (GNP) measures societal and political success. The GNP orientation puts communities and societies under constant pressure and forces them into ruinous competition.
The economy constantly creates inequality, tension, and destruction. It does this by telling us the story of endless economic growth, which is needed and will help us overcome those inequalities. But infinite growth on a finite planet is not possible. Instead, infinite growth results in the global ecological destruction we are facing.
Along with the paradigm of endless growth, there are other paradigms that the economy holds onto and reinforces in our societies: patriarchy, discrimination of minorities, suppression, exploitation, and the ostracism of large segments of our community, as well as the idea that humans and nature are separate.
All of this reinforces our situation; it reinforces our crises. Our governance is a servant in this power play, and we ourselves are servants as we participate in the market and play games according to the rules of others. Those rules are ones we can't define because the very construction of our societies doesn't allow us to play by our own rules.
But if we want to transform our crises, we must change this power play. We must establish our own rules and empower ourselves to do so.