: Money is a constant in every country's election in one way or another. This statement, without doubt, is a clear appraisal of state power and where it originates.
: If most people don't bother to vote it could be nothing more than an indication that most people are satisfied w/ the way things are going.
I'm going to challenge you on this.
According to The Nation (11 November 1996, pp. 5-6) and many other sources, the richest people in America ALWAYS vote and the poorest people NEVER vote.
Seeing how the poorest people are, in general, the LEAST satisfied people in the country, there is strong reason to deduce that those who do not vote are not satisfied with the 'choices' at the polls as well as many other things their actions fail to influence.
On the other hand, if all the Wall Street tycoons and the board directors of the big corporations were staying away from the elections, then I would accept your assumption that those who don't vote are satisfied with 'the way things are going.'
Conclusion: democracy in America is merely bourgeois democracy---therefore it only concerns the bourgeoisie (and, of course, their assorted lackeys who enjoy the better table scraps).
None.