The most obvious example of the triumph of capitalist values over democratic ones is seen in opinion polls taken in Venezuela. The Chilean polling agency Latinobarometro, which is reputed for its neutrality and integrity, regularly releases results of its opinion polls. These results are proving to be a serious annoyance to American propagandists, politicians and business owners alike. For example, “Venezuela ranked second behind Uruguay in satisfaction with democracy and third in satisfaction with leaders. It ranked first in the assessment of the current and future economic situation, equality and justice, and education standards. True, it ranked only 11th in favoring a market economy but, even with this flaw, overall it ranked highest in Latin America on matters of democracy, justice and optimism, far above the US favorites Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Chile.” (Chomsky, 2010, p.29) But the complete lack of coverage of this poll results in the Western media is an indication of contempt and hatred of functioning democracies. The United States, unfortunately, takes the leadership position in blatantly disregarding instances of democratic success. It is in this context that African-American academic and activist Cornel West, hands a harsh indictment of American political values and priorities:
“Ironically, we are losing sight of the very meaning of democracy even as we hold elections and occupy countries in order to make the world safe for democracy. In our market-driven empire, clever elite salesmanship that appeals to the fears of a frightened and often ill-informed voting populace constitute our impoverished electoral politics. And seductive rhetoric championing of democracy and freedom hide an imperial foreign policy of geo-political concerns and corporate interests. The long-term result may be the vulgar reduction of the precious and great word democracy to a mere cliché-uttered by all but devoid of content and substance. The irony of American history is that we can lose our democracy owing to our allegiance to an emaciated conception of democracy.” (West, 2005, p.129)
Under the pretence of spreading democracy and capitalism across the world, the United States has been covertly promoting its strategic interests. This includes signing unfair trade agreements, detainment of illegal immigrants, toppling democratic governments by supporting military coups (in fact, the Central Intelligence Agency has gained a tarnished reputation for designing and executing many such coups), etc. All of these factors have established corrupt political institutions in many countries across the world. In several others, American involvement has sapped local economies to the brink of collapse. Erosion of national sovereignty, concentration of power in the hands of a few large Multi-National Corporations (MNCs), declining political stability in many regions, hurdles for democracy promotion are all symptoms of the flaws in the capitalist system. As the threat of global warming and nuclear warfare loom large on the horizon, the continuation of America-led neoliberal project, with its attendant militarism and forceful diplomacy, will have to be questioned, protested and eventually dismantled. It is clearly in reaction to the excesses of capitalistic hegemony that grassroots mass movements are starting to emerge in different parts of the developing world, especially the Global South. (Friedman, 2007, p.46)