Real democracy requires economic agency that most people lack

Evidence

It is a stark truth: capitalism and democracy are fundamentally incompatible. While democratic governments, with elections and separation of powers, are a feature of capitalist societies, our understanding of democracy as one based on electoral processes is incomplete. Real democracy requires a modicum of economic agency, which the majority of people don’t have. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 361

Categorization

• DEFINE: This is Mattei’s operative definition of democracy as economic agency, distinguished from mere electoral processes.
• DEEPTHINKING: The chapter’s load-bearing claim — ‘democracy is anti-capitalism’ — rests here. Dense enough to sit with: democracy defined by economic agency directly challenges the conventional electoral definition.
• XREF: connects to: Real political participation requires eliminating economic inequality as a cause of unequal political access. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2342