The diagram centrists don’t want you to see
Centrism frames the debate about capitalism as one of consent vs. coercion and argue that capitalism is fine because workers consent in the legal sense to the labor contract. Democratic theory recognizes a distinction among voluntary contracts i.e. consent to alienate vs. consent to delegate. A centrist can’t appeal to this distinction because capitalism and political democracy are on opposite sides
I had to study the diagram a few times to figure out what the core point was, but I think it boils down to this:
Democracy: Highly equal, 1 person = 1 vote, everyone is included (“inalienist”)
Capitalism: Different levels of power, 1 person = $X, some people can’t participate as much as others (“alienist”)
Does this mean that Democratic Capitalism is somehow an oxymoron? Only in situations where we allow both types of power to coexist - hence the absolutely critical need to:
Alienist vs inalienist refers to whether voting/control rights are transferable (alienable).
Better to say institutions based on consent to alienate vs delegate
Voting rights’ transferability with alienist systems implies inequality, but the core point is consent to alienate vs. delegate.
The employment contract is inherently an alienation contract. The workers give up and transfer the management rights to the employer and the employer manages in their own name
@progressivepolitics