American society’s three major pillars:

Civil Institutions

Labor / Middle Class

Core Principles: The middle class is the strength of America and comprises of families, schools, religious institutions, community organizations, and media that shape values, norms, and civic participation. We are the pride of America.

Institutions involved: Sports teams, Churches, local nonprofits, universities, community news, volunteer groups.

Why it matters: It’s where Americans learn ethics, responsibility, identity, and empathy. It’s how we build trust and cohesion with each other and grow.

Democracy

Political Class

Core Principles: The political class is the heart of America and holds strong the belief in representative government, individual rights, rule of law, and the Constitution as guiding moralities.

Institutions involved: Congress, courts, free and fair elections, checks and balances, Local and State government.

Why it matters: This is where the American experiment is constantly tested and underpins civil liberties, public accountability, and the peaceful transfer of power from one generation to the next.

Capitalism

Corporate Class

Core Principles: The corporate class is the engine that powers the American Dream. A market-based economy with private property, entrepreneurship, and the pursuit of individual success and communal success.

Institutions involved: Corporations, small businesses, Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, consumer protections.

Why it matters: It fuels innovation, wealth creation, and the American Dream—but also raises questions of inequality and fairness.

When these three pillars are in equilibrium, American Prospers…

…However, over the last 50 years there has been a shifting of societal burden from one pillar onto another.

The Corporate Takeover: A 50-Year Story

Capitalism decided that it was easier to buy democracy rather than persuade voters. So over the last 50 years, a quiet but powerful shift has reshaped America. Post-WWII there was a stable equilibrium maintained between workers, employers, and government due to the presence of strong unions, an acceptance by employers of collective bargaining, and a government that maintained its role is regulating capitalism.

However, beginning in the 1980s, the corporate class began investing heavily in political influence. Through a combination of lobbying, campaign financing, regulatory capture, and media consolidation, corporations rewrote the rules of governance, not for the public good, but for private gain.

Here are key factors to understand, so we can learn how to course correct:

1. Campaign Finance: Legalized Influence

  • Citizens United (2010) gave corporations and special interest groups the green light to spend unlimited money in elections.

  • Super PACs and dark money organizations flooded the system, buying access, favor, and outcomes.

2. Lobbying: Money Talks

  • Corporations spend over $4 billion annually lobbying Congress. Hiring former politicians, regulators, and insiders to influence laws behind closed doors.

  • In many cases, laws are not written by lawmakers, but by corporate lobbyists, handed off to legislators as “policy suggestions.”

3. Revolving Doors: Politics as a Career Path to Profit

  • Members of Congress and top regulators often transition into high-paying corporate lobbying or board roles after public service.

  • This creates a dangerous incentive: protect corporate interests while in office to secure a lucrative future afterward.

4. Regulatory Capture: Watchdogs on a Leash

  • Agencies meant to protect the public, like the FDA, SEC, and EPA have been weakened by industry insiders who now run them.

  • The results have been lax oversight, deregulation, and policies that prioritize profits over public safety, worker rights, and the environment.

5. Media Consolidation: Controlling the Narrative

  • Just a handful of corporations control the vast majority of what Americans see, hear, and read.

  • This limits alternative voices and reinforces the status quo, masking systemic issues with partisan distractions.

The Cost: The American Dream

This alliance between the corporate and political classes has come at the expense of the working class, the very people who keep our economy and communities alive. Wages have stagnated. Healthcare is unaffordable. Housing is out of reach. And millions of Americans feel disillusioned and powerless in a system they know is rigged.

But it doesn’t have to stay this way.