In the course of watching all 200 episodes (and rewatching several) and currently reading through the manga, in the course of obsessively writing a fanfic and trying not to violate anime canon in any way (whilest seeking out appropriate concepts from the manga to tie in, like the Shitennou's backstory), there is a sad, nigh-certain conclusion I have reached:
This stuff wasn't thought through very well sometimes.
Don't get me wrong- there's some definite themes and depths- the anime has a lot to say about forgiveness (consider Nephrite, or Ali and En, or Professor Tomoe, or Nehellenia, or Galaxia), trust (Mamoru has a couple stories about this in particular), caution (too much trust can get you in serious trouble- look at Hotaru taking the Grail/Chalice), love in many forms (there is an undeniable implication in both the manga and anime, that homosexual romance is valid :love
, and intriguing mythological imagery. There are themes about responsibility, and even more about coping (note how many times Usagi does stupid stuff on a day to day basis, but does exactly the right thing in a crisis- contrasted with, say, Haruka and Michiru, much as I love them too).
The manga has some of that, but I'd say the manga doesn't even really stop to dwell on ethics much at all (at least not in the first two arcs that I've read so far), it just tries to potray grand situations, romance, loss, tragedy, and stuff like that. Which are plenty deep in their own right!
And it's fun to look for more themes and depths in the work. When it comes to weird greek mythological references, they're actually there a lot of the time! I'm 100% onboard with analyzing everything.
But it's my honest opinion that Naoko Takuechi-sama, by her own description in the omake pages (check the 4-koma comics at the end of Act 11), was running on fumes half the time she wrote the manga. Sometimes she was in a hurry and struggling, understandably, with harsh deadlines. So she was often winging it, I think. It's still good work! Great work, for those circumstances.
But did she ever stop to think about capitalist or communist themes in the work? I doubt it. To the extent her own opinions leaked in, she obviously enjoys her shinies (who doesn't?), but I don't think there was a clear or intended message about that.
The anime, with all it's episodes about the Dark Kingdom's more detailed schemes, maybe sort of has some related themes, but I think the main idea is to be wary of excess and mis-spending your energy, more than anything about economic systems. Seems like more of a pseudo-buddhist aesop to me, from my limited knowledge of such matters.
Also, didn't Nephrite sort of indirectly save that park? They seemed to call off the demolition because the gardener got the wildlife to attack the demolition crew. I like to think that's the same park which appears in episode 24 (and where Chibi-usa arrives in R at the docks), but that's purely arbitrary headcanon.
Also also, the Dark Kingdom has more brainwashing than you can shake a stick at, so mostly, try not to get killed by Metallia; she'll mess your planet up even if you're minding your own business and being a good little grownup.
Crystal Tokyo... they show so little of how it was when it wasn't in it's destroyed. 'bad future' form (and even the destroyed version is a little vague. The anime chose to remove the
corpses lining the streets, though... the manga is
bruuutaaaalll!!!, like death metal! Naoko-sama was hardcore).
The non-destroyed Crystal Tokyo does evoke utopian imagery and implications (incredibly long lifespans, for example- sounds kinda transhuman-ish maybe?) but they don't say much about how it works. I kind of wish they had gotten into more about it, or at least mentioned it during the ending, but oh well
It's certainly an intriguing topic ripe for fanfiction though.
For my own two cents (speaking as someone poor in bad health, and being highly dependant on certain welfare programs- Social Security Disability and "food stamps")... I think being "pro" or "anti" capitalist in this kind of story is less about what kind of resources the characters have and more about how they share them. Does Usagi think poor people are gross? Are the poor shunned?
Do they ever get around to showing or describing poor people?
Most of the time, no. Even Ali and En, who are quasi-homeless, take over a super fancy apartment and describe themselves as 'wandering nobility' (of a dead civilization). Yuuichirou kinda
looks poor the way he shows up, but we later learn he's allowed to borrow the use of his parents' privately owned huge ski lodge, so nope.
To find the only answer I remember, we must look to episode 156 and the one-off character Kamoi.
Kamoi is a starving, possibly homeless painter. He has paint supplies and clothes, but he doesn't have enough food to eat and we only ever see him hanging out in a park. He's pouring everything he has into painting, and then humbly accepting if people refuse to pay him (like total jerks).
When Usagi and Chibi-usa realize he's starving, they invite him over and cook him a nice meal- not a very permanent fix, but about as charitable as I can imagine for a teenager and preteen acting on a budget of allowance!
CereCere's plan is to exploit Kamoi by offering him a nice place to stay, but because she's shallow she tries to get him to violate his artistic principles by painting her portraits more flatteringly than he sees her. Under duress, he bitterly agrees out of desperation, and it damages his beautiful dream mirror! CereCere is just using him, of course, so this situation doesn't last anyway. But staying true to his principles is considered right, and an important part of his recovery.
Kamoi's long-term fate isn't really clear, but Usagi remains friends with him, and they buy a portrait of Rei from him (even though she also wants to be depicted more flatteringly), so... that's hardly a condemnation of him. They seem to want to help support him and think he deserves better.
(In my headcanon/fanfic, Yumemi Yumeno, the rich artist of the Seven Great Youma in season 1 with a similar life-study-model painting approach, makes friends with him, bakes him ALL THE COOKIES, and they eventually get married.)
So that random one-off episode isn't terribly capitalist, at least (at least not viciously so). If we can infer anything about the type of leader Usagi will be from this, then it's that Usagi would probably not let anybody starve even if they couldn't support themselves effectively. Perhaps she would implement a no-questions-asked subsidized food program? (As opposed to something like New York State's ABAWD policy, which says SNAP/"food stamps" are only available 3 months out of 36 for 'able bodied adults without dependents' which Kamoi would likely count as.)
EDIT: I apologize if any of the above is too political, but, well, the thread kind of brought up poiltics to begin with, so I hope it was okay.