Corporate Interests & Democracy's Death Knell

I wasn't aware that the U.S. Constitution was a dictionary.

Then you need to broaden your awareness. The US Constitution is, by definition , the definition of US democracy.

It's the definition of U.S. government.

Exactly. It's the definition of a democratic government.A dictionary defines the word "democracy". The Constitution defines the institution - i.e. the practice - of democracy.

It is the definition of a government. How democratic that government is depends on the person making the judgement.Democracy can take many forms; where in that mix the U.S. falls in practice varies over time and under different interpretations (those by judges, for example).

In the context of your original claim, it would make sense to compare the US government to itself. Is it becoming less democratic or more?

In my opinion?

You might want to think before you express an opinion. (Some hints: votes for women, desegregation....)

My opinion is that the ability of our government to work in the interest of the people has been diminished over time, even if we've been including more and more folks in our definition of 'people'. Equal treatment under the law has no necessary relationship with democracy. Edited by Jon, : No reason given.

Some animals are more equal than others.

The ability of the government to work in the interest of the people has no necessary relationship with democracy.

Huh?

You said, "... the ability of our government to work in the interest of the people has been diminished over time..." and, "Equal treatment under the law has no necessary relationship with democracy."
I'm saying that the ability of the government to work in the interest of the people has no necessary relationship with democracy either - so your point about equal treatment is moot.By analogy, you're saying that dogs are smarter than cats because they have four legs; I'm pointing out that cats also have four legs.

The ability of the people who make the decisions to make them in their interests is the basic component of a functioning government.In a democracy, the 'people who make the decisions' should be the electorate. When the decisions they make no longer translate into a service of their interests, we must ask whether they are really the ones making the decisions (whether the democracy is a mirage) and if they are whether there is systemic malfunction preventing their decisions translating into a service of their interests (whether the democratic component of the system is broken though present) By analogy I'm really not.

Or... we could ask ourselves if our translation is accurate. Do "we" - meaning you - really know what the people's interests are? Maybe the people do know what their interests are and you're the one who doesn't. If there is a systemic malfunction, it's that the American people have abandoned much of their role in democracy, trusting their interests to capitalism: "What's good for business is good for me." That isn't democracy breaking down; it's just failure to use democracy.