But how can the economic and political power of the middle class be restored to save capitalism?
Capitalism can be saved through the formation of a new political party. For instance, did you know that the largest political party in the country is neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party, but the party of nonvoters?
Just consider the 2012 presidential election. Only 58.2 percent of eligible voters exercised their right to vote.
A third party could be founded to unite apathetic voters, returning a political voice to disenfranchised Americans. This party should endeavor to enable the economic success of the country’s majority.
But to do this, the party would need to reform America’s system of campaign financing, which currently allows wealthy individuals to leverage their money to influence politicians. Beyond that, the party would need to raise the minimum wage, give priority to labor agreements instead of creditor agreements and limit the size of Wall Street’s gigantic banks.
When that’s completed, the corporation too will need to be reinvented. As the system is set up today, the financial interest of corporations means lower pay for the average worker and extremely high pay for executives.
One strategy for changing this system would be to tie corporate tax rates to the ratio of what a CEO makes compared with the pay of an average worker. The greater the difference, the higher the tax. This would give corporations an economic incentive to increase the average wage of employees.
Capitalism is not lost. Yet if it is to survive, it will have to be reorganized to better distribute its profits.