- O excerto:
"...Fierce competition for consumer dollars is pushing companies to slash
payrolls, outsource abroad, fight unions, violate human rights, and spew gunk
into the atmosphere, among other things [afirma que o mesmo está a suceder na
Europa e na Ásia]. In America, that same competition has unleashed a political
arms race among companies hiring ever-larger armies of Washington lobbyists to
fight for public policies that help them and hurt their rivals. The resulting
cacophony has overwhelmed the democratic process, making it difficult if not
impossible for citizen values to be heard.
The answer, ... lies in erecting a more effective barrier
between the economy and politics, between capitalism and democracy. That way, we
as consumers can enjoy the benefits of the former, as informed by the citizen
values we express in the latter. Yet to accomplish this will require more than
campaign-finance and lobbying reform, because such fixes are so readily undone. We will need to practice democratic citizenship with as much zeal as we
practice consumerism, and elect leaders who inspire us to do
so."
