I would suggest that manpipulation goes back even further, that democracy or socialism and capitalism are indeed in part misunderstood in meaning in part misunderstood in implications. The reason why i think people think the people with money are capitalists and forgot that corporations are a socialist idea lies more in the economic model, that is, keynesian economics, which focusses on the exchange of money and not any money, either, state issued money, fiat currency.
Which really at this point, how is that much different to a social credit system when they can directly freeze or take from your bank account? Increasingly, only socialists can be rich in this system.
Whereas an austrian economist would very much describe it as profitable to feed the poor, provided you value knowing that people do not starve.
Democracy, well weve had that in the weimar republic as well.
Heres the thing about a democratic republic, all the incentives are in favor of more and more centralisation of power.
And morally i dont see how democracy is different from a gang-rape anyways.
We can very much analyse governance through the lense of economics - the privately owned state of a monarchy versus the public owned state of a democracy, with the added distinction that also they are only elected temporarily so that they own only the current usage of the state and not its capital growth, incentivising the draining for personal benefit in the shortterm whereas a monarch actualy owns the realm, can pass it on, sell it in whole or in part and so on so that the incentives would be a lot more longterm. It also means as a civilian you are a lot less concerned with war, the distinction between combatant and civilian are a lot more clearly defined.
Of course there can be bad and authoritarian monarchs but even then, they are relativly easy to deal with with as the people get themselves some sharp tools.
Im not a monarchist, mind, i am advocating for voluntaryism or capitalism, in the vein of Proudhon (yes, hes the guy that said "Property is theft" - in context speaking about illegitimate property gained through violence as most landproperty was gained that way rather than through legitimate homesteading). He also said "Property is liberty"), mises, rothbard and hoppe.
If anything, the way seems to be going more socialist going forward, with central bank digital currencies directly tied to a digital ID system, the bank of England outright explicitly suggesting that it could be programmable so that people could only buy what the government says is essential or whatever your employer allows you to buy, advertising it with how convenient it would make it to control how your child is allowed to spend its pocket money and shit like that.