How democratic is the American Constitution in today's America?

The political theorist Robert Dahl has growing doubts about how democratic the American Constitution is. This article discusses his concerns that it does not guarantee political equality for all groups and individuals. The problem is that rich groups and people have more access to power than others do.

Dahl's doubts about U.S. democracy

Contradictory claims
When C.Mills declared that U.S.democracy was dominated by an elite, Dahl rebutted his claim, saying that instead it was polyarchic, meaning that there were several competing power bases rather than one.However, in recent years Dahl has become more pessimistic that the constitution can deliver genuine democracy in the political, social and cultural conditions that prevail in the America today.
Power as a tool solely for economic elites
Power seems to be disproportionately wielded by an economic and social elite. His concern is that while the founding fathers acted in good will, they also acted in deep ignorance about the future, and were unaware of how much economic power can distort the equality guaranteed by the constitution. His concern is deepened by his inability to see any means of reforming this situation short of a constitutional collapse.

What is going wrong

Dahl establishes certain criteria by which a democracy should be measured. These are:
effective participation for all,
voting equality,
enlightened understanding,
control of the agenda and
inclusiveness. Greater control and access
He feels that the constitution cannot guarantee full compliance with all of these criteria. Equal participation is threatened, he believes, by the ability to wealthy individuals and groups to have greater access to legislators through professional lobbyists, which gives them control of the agenda to a greater degree than poorer people have.
Funding
Furthermore, presidential, congressional and senatorial candidates have to seek funding from rich groups and individuals to mount effective campaigns, giving such individuals an unequal influence on the agenda.
Education
Enlightened understanding may not always be equally distributed, as educational opportunities are greater for wealthy groups than for poorer ones, and because powerful groups control the media and select and distort information to suit their own agenda. Inequalities (influence, information, control of agendas)
The question is not whether the U.S. is a democratic society, as it clearly is one. Everyone enjoys equal rights and has the vote, and the legislature and president are elected by universal suffrage. However, Dahl's concern is with the inequalities in the distribution of influence and information, with rich and powerful people enjoying more than their fair share at the expense of poorer and marginalised people and groups. The U.S. Constitution, therefore, in Dahl's view, creates a flawed democracy