2025/05/14 by Venkat Ram Reddy Ganuthula, Ganuthula, Venkat Ram Reddy, Krishna Kumar Balaraman +1
Social Sciences · #FOS: Economics and business #General Economics (econ.GN) #Political Economy and Marxism #Social Policy and Reform Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2505.09128
openalex publication_date 2025/05/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This article examines the complex relationship between money and political legitimacy in democracies (United States, Germany, India) and nondemocracies (China, Russia), using published empirical evidence to explore how financial resources influence governance. In democracies, US campaign finance, German party funding, and Indias electoral bonds amplify elite influence, openly eroding public trust by skewing policy toward wealthy interests. In nondemocracies, Chinas state enterprise patronage and Russias oligarch suppression strengthen legitimacy, yet hide vulnerabilities revealed by anticorruption campaigns and power struggles. The analysis argues that moneys corrosive impact is widespread but varies: democracies face evident legitimacy crises, while nondemocracies conceal underlying fragility. These findings highlight the need for reforms: increased transparency in democracies and wider power bases in nondemocracies, to mitigate moneys distorting effect on political authority.