But in one way the classic theorists were right to base their notion of democracy on access to economic power and hope for a 'republic of smallholders'. You cannot separate economic power from political power. Under a corporate-dominated economy it is a joke to talk of 'free and equal citizens'. The sense of not having a say, of letting someone else decide, of being 'managed' is rooted in most people's work experience. It is hard to imagine a real democracy with work-dictatorship dominating our everyday lives.
Economic power shapes political power.
The eventual extension of the franchise to workers and women, after generations of hard struggle, failed to live up to the hopes of some and the fears of others for greater equality and democracy. The stranglehold of cash has led to the asphyxiation of honest public debate. A lot of people stubbornly cling to the idea that democracy means that they should get to decide. They refuse to accept the political scientist's limited notion of a democracy, where we only decide who leads us and then everything political is left up to them, with the resolution of basic economic issues left to the tender mercies of the marketplace. In such situations the stakes are high and authority obviously arbitrary and abusive.