Elections are one of the most critical features of vibrant democracies. Elections are meant to give voice to the citizens in the running of the country yet that is not always the case in the real world. One of the most corrupting influences in elections in democracies like the U.S. is money. The growing influence of money in elections hurts the spirit of democracyby giving undue influence to the wealthy minority at the expense of the majority of citizens.
Money corrupts elections by essentially promoting inequality of citizenship. In other words, some citizens tend to have greater say than other citizens in how the country is run. Every citizen should have an equal voice in a democracy yet that is not the case when money is allowed to influence elections. Elected politicians are more likely to represent the will of the majority without the corrupting influence of the money. However, the money influences the elected politicans to pay more attention to the will of the minority or else lose direct and indirect financial support.
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"Does Money Corrupt Election".
Allowing money to shape politics including elections also results in our elected politicians wasting valuable time resources on unproductive activities that do little or nothing to advance the interests of the society. It is not a secret that almost every politician including the President spends significant time courting wealthy donors. These activities become more frequent near the election season. If the role of money is limited in the political arena, the politicians would spend more time creating and passing legislations and address issues that concern their constituents as well as the country.
The money does not hurt democracy in the short run only but also in the long run. The growing influence of money only exacerbates class divide as those left behind become frustrated by the political system that continues to cater to the wealthy at the expense of the rest. The growing polarization in the U.S. as well as other developed countries is also due to growing influence of money because the trust in the political establishment has been declining. This has created opportunities for manipulative politicians to emerge and exploit the anger of the masses at the elite class for their personal gains. It is important to curb the growing influence of money in elections to restore the true spirit of democracy that works for everyone irrespective of his/her financial status and financial contributions.
Money also corrupts elections by creating an uneven playing field for candidates. Instead of competing based on individual merits and policy proposals, the candidates focus on campaign contributions so that they have the financial resources to wage aggressive and often misleading media campaigns against their opponents. In such a scenario, competent and honest candidates may be at significant disadvantage if they do not have the financial resources to address inaccurate accusations perpetuated through media campaigns. Democracy benefits when competent candidates prevail rather than those with greater financial resources at their disposal.
The opponents may claim restricting role of money is violation of freedom of speech. This is wrong because restricting money does not translate to restrictions on their voting rights, the same right available to fellow citizens. The intention is to preserve the integrity of elections by giving equal voice to everyone. Buying politicians through financial donations is not very different, in essence, from bribing public officials to buy favors yet attempts to punish bribery are not perceived as violations of freedom of speech.
In conclusion, the role of money should be limited in elections to preserve the spirit of democracy as much as possible. Money promotes inequality of citizenship as those with more financial resources have greater say in the running of the country than those with fewer financial resources. Money also encourages politicans to waste time on unproductive activities instead of working for their constituents as well as the greater country. Money undermines the importance of competency and character in elections as those with more money at their disposal often prevail over more competent rivals through questionable tactics like aggressive and misleading media campaigns.
