| DEMOCRACY | PLUTOCRACY |
| We, the People | Wealthy Few |
| One Person One Vote | One Dollar One Vote |
| Government | Limited Government |
| Majority | Supermajority |
| Information | Propaganda |
| Taxes on the Wealthy | Tax Cuts for the Wealthy |
| Budgets | Budget Cuts |
| Jobs programs | Bank Bailouts |
| Welfare | Warfare |
| Express Lanes for 2 or More People | Express Lanes for 2 or More Dollars |
| Security Lines at Airports | Special First-Class Security Lanes at Airports |
| Public Schools | Private Schools |
| Public Investment | Private Investment |
Updates:
| Public Transportation | Private Jets |
| Accountability | Impunity |
| Rule Of Law | Above The Law |
| Transparency | Secrecy |
| Sustainable growth | Polluter Growth |
| Medicare-For-All | Healthcare For Profit |
| Clean Elections | Rigged Elections |
| Savings Accounts | Offshore Accounts |
| Credit Card Debt | Credit Default Swaps |
| Union members | Serfs |
| Layoffs | Payoffs |
| Homies | Cronies |
| Grassroots | Astroturf |
| Pensions | 401Ks |
| Honest Brokers | Self-Interest |
| Free Will | At Will |
| Citizen | Consumer |
| Citizen | Employee |
| Participant | Observer |
| Actor | Acted On |
| Doer | Done To |
| Majorities | Markets |
Feel free to add additional contrasts in the comments.
Our most important fundraising appeal of the year
December is the most critical time of year for Truthout, because our nonprofit news is funded almost entirely by individual donations from readers like you. So before you navigate away, we ask that you take just a second to support Truthout with a tax-deductible donation.
This year is a little different. We are up against a far-reaching, wide-scale attack on press freedom coming from the Trump administration. 2025 was a year of frightening censorship, news industry corporate consolidation, and worsening financial conditions for progressive nonprofits across the board.
We can only resist Trump’s agenda by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.
We’ve set an ambitious target for our year-end campaign — a goal of $250,000 to keep up our fight against authoritarianism in 2026. Please take a meaningful action in this fight: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout before December 31. If you have the means, please dig deep.