Why Capitalists Should Vote for Biden
This article is directed towards those who are already well aware of the dangers which former President Donald J. Trump (R) poses to the U.S. Constitution (calling for its termination), to the Western world in general (encouraging Russia to invade it), and potentially to the existence of civilization (encouraging Russia to potentially go to war with nuclear powers, such as Great Britain and France) – yet who are also hesitant to “pull the lever” for President Joseph Biden (D) this coming November.
The hesitation may stem from any number or combination of things. For some, it is ideological, as the American brand of liberalism becomes more adjacent with democratic socialism. For others, it is because some of the Biden Administration’s policy decisions have been disasters. For others, it is primitive tribalism, where members of the opposing tribe are mortal enemies and can be shown no quarter. For others, it is personal, with concerns about Biden himself – whether it be his age and health, his son’s and his brother’s shady characters, etc.
For sure, Biden is no one’s ideal candidate (no one carries “Have a Cup of Joe” mugs). This author takes issue with Biden’s economic policies, along with his generous use of Executive Orders to create “fiat” legislation and ill-advised decisions such as the handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan (albeit most of the blame goes to Trump for waving the white flag to the Taliban, then giving the Biden Administration only a few months to withdraw personnel).
However, this author will be supporting Biden’s re-election bid because, in judging for whom to vote in an election, one must first keep within context a key fact, namely the office to which the candidate is to be elected – in this case, the Office of the President, and the limitations of such office.
Under the Constitution, a President is tasked and empowered with executing certain duties, with limitations (aka “checks and balances”) in place to ensure that those powers are not expanded or abused. While a President is given great discretion in exercising some powers (e.g., as Commander-in-Chief), a President is also given little in others (e.g., the President’s word is not law and the President cannot be both prosecutor, judge, and jury in administering laws). Both the Legislative and Judicial branches are given powers to check that of the Executive branch, along with the governments of 50 states in some respects. A person cannot serve, at most, more than ten years in such office and must work with at least two different Congresses to pass legislation during such time.
With this context in mind, it then becomes necessary to judge the candidates based on not only their ability to fulfill the duties of such office but, more importantly, which is the least likely to abuse the office’s powers – in other words, who is most likely to defer to the checks and balances prescribed by the Constitution.
For capitalists, who support the rights of individuals, there is no comparison between Biden and Trump on this point. While Biden has continued the trend largely set by President Theodore Roosevelt (R) in expanding the powers of the Presidency via Executive Orders, Biden has also largely deferred to both Congress and the Supreme Court when checked by such (e.g., rolling back plans to forgive student debt, when the Supreme Court held that he was not authorized by law to do so).
Biden is no capitalist, but he has not shown a propensity for grabbing power. He is also unlikely to do so during his second term, when Republicans are likely to control half of Congress during at least the first two years, and then Biden will be a “lame duck” for the remaining two.
Contrast this to his opponent, whose response to the judicial branch’s rejections of his claims that the 2020 election was “stolen”, told an angry mob to “fight like hell” and allowed them to ransack the Capitol for hours - an act of domestic terrorism to frighten both the Vice President and Congress into delaying their Constitutional duty of counting the electoral votes, to rig the election in his favor.
Republicans in general will not act as a check upon Trump’s lust for power, as countless times we have seen Republicans do whatever he tells them to do, or they disregard past condemnations for his actions in order to save their political careers (former Gov. Nikki Haley being the latest example of this). His family, through Lara Trump, now completely “owns” the Republican Party. While the 6 – 3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court have demonstrated some independence, there are worrying signs that some of the members will kowtow to Trump, either to curry favor with elite friends (Clarence Thomas) or because they are “true believers” (Samuel Alito).
The difference between Biden and Trump in this election can be simply put as this: the United States, as a constitutional republic, will continue to exist after four more years of Biden. It may only exist as a dictatorship after four (or more) years of Trump – who, as a reminder, has publicly called for the termination of the Constitution.
Dictatorships and capitalism are wholly incompatible with each other, thus if capitalists wish to defend their individual rights, they should vote for Biden and then work towards finding a better candidate in 2028. If they support Trump’s efforts, whether by voting for him, voting for a third party candidate (none of whom are worth voting for this time), or abstaining, there is a real danger that this would be their last chance to vote for anyone.
