Democratization processes and rise of corporate power Essay

Democratization processes and rise of corporate power - Essay Example In this respect, the government must respect a citizen's right to associate freely, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of expression and the freedom to criticize their leaders. Members of a democratic society have the right to know the goings on in their country; they ought to be able to stand for any civic or parliamentary post within their country or vote for a leader of their choice. Such governments must not discriminate women or other groups from participating in government. Citizens have a right to choose whatever political party they prefer and to involve themselves in campaigns .Lastly, the rule of law must apply in a democratic state. This means that no one can take away another's right and be left unpunished. The law keeps powers of government under check and no one should think they are above the law including the head of state. Citizens in a democratic state should not use their powers within their offices to infringe others. Imprisonment, torture or other un fair treatments have no place in democracy (Anderson, 2000) Corporate power is not a new issue in the world today. There are numerous ways in which corporations demonstrate their far reaching political abilities. Corporations have dominated economies of the world and have the ability to surpass common law to the detriment of the common man. Consequently, the process of democracy has been affected by the influence exerted by these corporations. The relationship between these two aspects is what shall be examined in detail in the next section of the essay. Unlimited power on the part of corporations also causes a huge impact on the social and environmental aspects of people's lives. (Anderson, 2000) Democracy and the rise of corporate power Decision making ability The rise of corporate power has transferred the right to make decisions from citizen's lives to big time corporations thus demeaning the major principles of a true democracy. This type of influence enables corporations to make decisions about what technology a country should adopt and what kind of production should be adopted within a certain country. Corporations use their power to determine the kind of methods used for production. Because these large corporations market, employ and deal with majority of the country's population, they cause a large effect on them. Corporate influence surpasses the law because corporations are regarded as private entities in most countries of the world. In this sense therefore, they cannot be questioned when they make their choices. Corporations also participate in politics. They do so by lobbying and giving politicians treats such as a dinner or luncheons. In such cases, they have direct influence in the way things are done Political contributions Corporations have been known to participate in political processes through the monetary contributions which they have made. A research done by the Institute for Policy Studies in the year 2000 showed that there are about eighty two companies that made contributions in the United States during their last election. The sum total of money contributed by these corporations was about thirty three million dollars. This was the largest contribution made by any entity in the election. Compared to the next highest contributor in the elections; Labor Unions, Corporations exceeded the