--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem with American democracy is…" description: "\"The problem with American democracy is the American corporation, which is a slave holder construct, pure and simple. It's totally invasive, and people ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/richard-grossman-30272_american-democracy_the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-t_481328.jpg" --- # The problem with American democracy is the American… ![“The problem with American democracy is the American corporation, which is a slave holder construct, pure and simple. It's totally invasive, and people are as tightly controlled within the walls of a corporation as they are in a totalitarian society.” quote by Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/richard-grossman-30272_american-democracy_the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-t_481328.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/richard-grossman-30272_american-democracy_the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-t_481328.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/richard-grossman-30272_american-democracy_the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-t_481328.jpg) > “The problem with American democracy is the American corporation, which is a slave holder construct, pure and simple. It's totally invasive, and people are as tightly controlled within the walls of a corporation as they are in a totalitarian society.” [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American democracy is undermined by corporations that act like slave‑holding, totalitarian entities, controlling citizens as tightly as a regime. **In simple terms:** Corporations dominate politics, limiting freedom. Key Takeaway Resist corporate power, protect democratic rights. Themes politics corporate power freedom authoritarianism Mood critical concerned Type political analytical When to use this quote - voting - activism - policy advocacy - community organizing - consumer choice Key Concepts democratic theory economic control social control Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens reclaim power from corporate influence? - What safeguards protect democracy from economic domination? A Different Perspective Corporations also provide jobs and services, complicating outright rejection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-democracy/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [Campaign ads are the backbone of American democracy if American democracy suffered a gigantic spinal injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver/campaign-ads-are-the-backbone-of-american-democracy-if-american/) [John Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver/) > [A more important antidote to American democracy is American gerontocracy. The positions of eminence and authority in Congress are allotted in accordance with length…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/a-more-important-antidote-to-american-democracy-is-american/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [But you have to understand, American democracy is not like the system you have. We're not an ocean liner that sails across the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/but-you-have-to-understand-american-democracy-is-not-like-the-system/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [It’s ridiculous to talk about freedom in a society dominated by huge corporations. What kind of freedom is there inside a corporation? They’re totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-ridiculous-to-talk-about-freedom-in-a-society-dominated-by-huge/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Fundamental problem in American democracy is that we are allowing congressmen and senators to be bought and sold like sneakers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/fundamental-problem-in-american-democracy-is-that-we-are-allowing/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [The establishment of democracy on the American continent was scarcely as radical a break with the past as was the necessity, which Americans faced,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-establishment-of-democracy-on-the-american-continent-was-scarcely/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [“I don't fancy bringing the Americans into this at all… They are inclined to take things over these days, and I have an idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-aldridge/i-don-t-fancy-bringing-the-americans-into-this-at-all-they-are/) [James Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-aldridge/) > [If the test of patriotism comes only by reflexively falling into lockstep behind the leader whenever the flag is waved, then what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/if-the-test-of-patriotism-comes-only-by-reflexively-falling-into/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [“It is their mores, then, that make the Americans of the United States...capable of maintaining the rule of democracy… Too much importance is attached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/it-is-their-mores-then-that-make-the-americans-of-the-united-states/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [I'd like to think that "President Obama believed deeply in this democracy and the American people."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-d-like-to-think-that-president-obama-believed-deeply-in-this/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Construct your determination with sustained effort, controlled attention, and concentrated energy. Opportunities never come to those who wait ... they are captured by those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-j-meyer/construct-your-determination-with-sustained-effort-controlled/) [Paul J. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-j-meyer/) > [The problem isn't a Congress that won't cut spending or a president who won't raise taxes. The problem is an American public with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-problem-isn-t-a-congress-that-won-t-cut-spending-or-a-president/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The government of Iran has no problem with the American nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-ahmadinejad/the-government-of-iran-has-no-problem-with-the-american-nation/) [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-ahmadinejad/) > [“Violence isn't a Democrat or Republican problem. It's an American problem, requiring an American solution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/violence-isn-t-a-democrat-or-republican-problem-it-s-an-american/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [Its a big problem for American movies that all their movies are produced to be global.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-a-big-problem-for-american-movies-that-all-their-movies-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Richard Grossman > [I have a strong spiritual commitment, and I try to express that in my work. Salvation cannot be worked out in human terms. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-have-a-strong-spiritual-commitment-and-i-try-to-express-that-in-my/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [When you're reading my book, you're not in a four dimensional continuum, you're in my continuum, the Grossman continuum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/when-you-re-reading-my-book-you-re-not-in-a-four-dimensional/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [I write about life as it exists within houses and on the streets. And there's nothing, hopefully, in any of my characterizations or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-write-about-life-as-it-exists-within-houses-and-on-the-streets-and/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [I've been in the art world for many years. But the sad fact is that most writers are visually prepubescent. Generally speaking, the literary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-ve-been-in-the-art-world-for-many-years-but-the-sad-fact-is-that/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [I love grand scale. One of the things that everybody mentions is that my novels are beautiful objects in the sense that the elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-love-grand-scale-one-of-the-things-that-everybody-mentions-is-that/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [I'm truly an outsider in the poetry world. When I started writing, I was trying to move my poems away from modernist lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-m-truly-an-outsider-in-the-poetry-world-when-i-started-writing-i/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [My books are not about different components that fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, it's about creating the space around the components,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/my-books-are-not-about-different-components-that-fit-together-like/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [I'm a staunch civil libertarian; I really believe that the individual is more important than any societal value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-m-a-staunch-civil-libertarian-i-really-believe-that-the-individual/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [I think of myself as a jazz player, and my music as a natural extension of the jazz tradition. What I'm doing is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-think-of-myself-as-a-jazz-player-and-my-music-as-a-natural/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [I think that life is incredibly violent and that individual people are incredibly violent on one level or another. I don't try to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-think-that-life-is-incredibly-violent-and-that-individual-people/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [Salvation is an individual relationship with God. I've always considered myself to be a devotional poet, and I consider myself to be a devotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/salvation-is-an-individual-relationship-with-god-i-ve-always/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [If there is anything unique about my writing it is the way that I combine poetry and prose, not just on the level of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/if-there-is-anything-unique-about-my-writing-it-is-the-way-that-i/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [I don't think that brutality and idealism are mutually exclusive. It's a common denominator in my work - rabid idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-don-t-think-that-brutality-and-idealism-are-mutually-exclusive-it-s/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [I'm a centrist. There is a lot going on socially that I don't like, but I feel that in a democracy you work from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-m-a-centrist-there-is-a-lot-going-on-socially-that-i-don-t-like-but/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) > [I think not in two or three dimensional terms but in five dimensional terms when I consider a novel. There's height, width, and depth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/i-think-not-in-two-or-three-dimensional-terms-but-in-five-dimensional/) [Richard Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) [Explore all 17 Richard Grossman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/) ## More American democracy quotes > [ Elvis \[Presley\] had a stepstool, if you will, to success because he came from the dominant culture. They identified with him. Michael Jackson had… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/elvis-presley-had-a-stepstool-if-you-will-to-success-because-he-came/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [That's what separates out American democracy from dictators and horrible governments across the world and the reason why that works is that we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-chamberlain/that-s-what-separates-out-american-democracy-from-dictators-and/) Charles R. Chamberlain > [This will be the day when we shall bring into full realization the dream of American democracy -- a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/this-will-be-the-day-when-we-shall-bring-into-full-realization-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [This has all the appearance of a foreign power trying to undermine structures of legitimacy of an American election. That is a serious matter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/this-has-all-the-appearance-of-a-foreign-power-trying-to-undermine/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [Men like Abraham Lincoln recognized that if the slaveholders were not stopped, it would only be a question of time until they spread their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/men-like-abraham-lincoln-recognized-that-if-the-slaveholders-were-not/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [These communities that are losing local news coverage are losing something deeper. They're losing a connection to American democracy. And those connections must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-stelter/these-communities-that-are-losing-local-news-coverage-are-losing/) [Brian Stelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-stelter/) > [“Today you go into make a modern recording with all this technology. The bass plays first, then the drums come in later, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/today-you-go-into-make-a-modern-recording-with-all-this-technology/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [As a result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, American democracy is being undermined by the ability of the Koch brothers and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/as-a-result-of-the-citizens-united-supreme-court-decision-american/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [If everyone on the Court always voted for the prosecution against the defendant, for the corporation against the plaintiffs, and for the government against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/if-everyone-on-the-court-always-voted-for-the-prosecution-against-the/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Political violence has no place in Pennsylvania - the birthplace of American democracy - nor anywhere else across this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-shapiro/political-violence-has-no-place-in-pennsylvania-the-birthplace-of/) [Josh Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-shapiro/) > [The atomic weapons race and the secrecy surrounding it crushed American democracy. It induced us to conduct government according to lies. It distorted justice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/the-atomic-weapons-race-and-the-secrecy-surrounding-it-crushed/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. They're troublemaking efforts. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-have-no-doubt-that-there-are-russian-efforts-to-disturb-the-fabric/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [“Still, it strikes me that, taken together, they do make an argument, and it is this: the rise of American democracy is bound up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/still-it-strikes-me-that-taken-together-they-do-make-an-argument-and/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [Mr Jefferson meant that the American system should be a democracy, and he would rather have let the whole world perish than that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/mr-jefferson-meant-that-the-american-system-should-be-a-democracy-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. The working theory behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-have-no-doubt-that-there-are-russian-efforts-to-disturb-the-fabric-2/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Browse all 168 American democracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-democracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem with American democracy is the American corporation, which is a slave holder construct, pure and simple. It's totally invasive, and people are as tightly controlled within the walls of a corporation as they are in a totalitarian society.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Grossman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-the-american-corporation-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American democracy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-the-american-corporation-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/richard-grossman-30272_american-democracy_the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-t_481328.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/richard-grossman-30272_american-democracy_the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-t_481328.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/richard-grossman-30272_american-democracy_the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-t_481328.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The problem with American democracy is the American corporation, which is a slave holder construct, pure and…” — Richard Grossman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Richard Grossman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grossman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The problem with American democracy is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-the-american-corporation-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grossman/the-problem-with-american-democracy-is-the-american-corporation-which/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```