CarolC, I think the tension between democratic ideals and capitalist ideals is at the root of what you are talking about. But that tension has always existed in the US, from the coming of the steamboat, to the railroad, to the car, to the airplane to the missiles and satellites, in terms of the transportation revoution. Then there is the weapons revolution, from the muskets, to the cannons, to the modern era of war weaponry, to the more recent promotion of war weaponry as consumer goods. Combine that with the technological advances of the past 50 years in telecommunications, and the rules have definitely changed.

But you are right. That tension, today, definitely indicates that the ideology of capitalism is winning out, at the expense of democratic ideologies.