Direct donations to a campaign are easily understandable. But how, exactly, do our purchases in a store or online make their way into politics?

Well, political campaigns can be understood as aggressive, temporary marketing companies; the mayflies of the advertising world. In fact, most campaigns spend around half their budget on ads. Their short life spans concentrate this need for money and necessitate expansive chains of donors. Those supply chains of capital mean our cash often ends up voting for us.

This Flowchart breaks down the ways that campaigns and politicians are, in a way, part of every click and stocked on every shelf: