Envision democracy

Daniel Day’s attack on Envision Spokane (June 30 letter) misconceives democracy.

There are many who see the primary virtues of our republic as found at Walmart rather than in voting booths. Democracy is guaranteed by the laws of the land; consumer capitalism is not. Envision Spokane aims to use democracy to make the standard of living better as a corrective to “bottom-line” morality.

Day says we “don’t have a right to work or a right to health care,” which is similar to the British crown’s assertion in the 1770s that the American colonies had no right to representation despite taxation.

Political action is supposed to encourage social justice, not settle for an unjust status quo.

Day claims “if you don’t like it, shop around,” but this is no ethic for a democracy. Citizens are not consumers, limited in their “freedom” to what’s currently on the shelves. He holds an extremely naive supply and demand view of economics, ignoring market creation of demand from nothing, and he overlooks monopolies.

Democratic citizens have the right to set terms under which business is done in their community; if business owners don’t like that, let them engage in the same political process to let their views be heard.

Kevin S. Decker

Spokane