> I think it is more accurate to say the the presence of democracy was part of the environment that allowed industrialization to occur.
That capitalism causes democracy is so high-level that it’s just a propaganda line. People from Marxists to neoliberals could say the same thing (meaning different things when interrogated).
> Democracy is older than political liberalism and its accompanying capitalism
The Athenians and Romans weren’t capitalist. But they were closer to it than Marxism or neoliberalism. (They both had private property, money in elections, trade, finance, et cetera.)
That capitalism causes democracy is so high-level that it’s just a propaganda line. People from Marxists to neoliberals could say the same thing (meaning different things when interrogated).