Economic and Political Democracy in Complex Times

Economic and Political Democracy in Complex Times
Author: Andrés Solimano
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2022-07-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000625419

The concept of economic democracy is traditionally identi?ed with workplace democracy and participation at the enterprise level. This is a very important dimension, but the concept of new economic democracy also recognizes that, in a world of increasing complexity, the principles of democratic deliberation and social participation have to be applied to other areas as well. This book takes a fresh look at economic democracy from various perspectives. It provides rich historical narratives of episodes of social participation in the economy and society, more broadly, from the 19th to the 21st century. It dissects the various analytical underpinnings informing the theory of economic democracy connecting it with collective choice, social contract theory, Marxian analysis and libertarian critiques. The book identi?es new areas of application of the principles of democratic deliberation and oversight such as the adoption of austerity policies, the signing of free trade agreements, the conduct of central bank policies, international investment treaties and natural resource management. It takes a guided tour through the evolution of economic, social and cultural rights and their impact on the design and implementation of social policy and the welfare/ developmental state. The book expands the notion of economic democracy from factory level to the macro-economy and then to global economic governance. It also discusses the critical links between political democracy and economic democracy and the need for a more democratic and socially equitable economy in the 21st century. This volume will ?nd an audience among economists, political scientists, social activists, philosophers and sociologists.

Democracy and the Market

Democracy and the Market
Author: Adam Przeworski
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 230
Release: 1991-07-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780521423359

The quest for freedom from hunger and repression has triggered in recent years a dramatic, worldwide reform of political and economic systems. Never have so many people enjoyed, or at least experimented with democratic institutions. However, many strategies for economic development in Eastern Europe and Latin America have failed with the result that entire economic systems on both continents are being transformed. This major book analyzes recent transitions to democracy and market-oriented economic reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Drawing in a quite distinctive way on models derived from political philosophy, economics, and game theory, Professor Przeworski also considers specific data on individual countries. Among the questions raised by the book are: What should we expect from these experiments in democracy and market economy? What new economic systems will emerge? Will these transitions result in new democracies or old dictatorships?

After War

After War
Author: Christopher J. Coyne
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2008
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780804754392

Post-conflict reconstruction is one of the most pressing political issues today. This book uses economics to analyze critically the incentives and constraints faced by various actors involved in reconstruction efforts. Through this analysis, the book will aid in understanding why some reconstructions are more successful than others.

Democracy and Prosperity

Democracy and Prosperity
Author: Torben Iversen
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2020-11-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0691210217

It is a widespread view that democracy and the advanced nation-state are in crisis, weakened by globalization and undermined by global capitalism, in turn explaining rising inequality and mounting populism. This book, written by two of the world's leading political economists, argues this view is wrong: advanced democracies are resilient, and their enduring historical relationship with capitalism has been mutually beneficial. For all the chaos and upheaval over the past century--major wars, economic crises, massive social change, and technological revolutions--Torben Iversen and David Soskice show how democratic states continuously reinvent their economies through massive public investment in research and education, by imposing competitive product markets and cooperation in the workplace, and by securing macroeconomic discipline as the preconditions for innovation and the promotion of the advanced sectors of the economy. Critically, this investment has generated vast numbers of well-paying jobs for the middle classes and their children, focusing the aims of aspirational families, and in turn providing electoral support for parties. Gains at the top have also been shared with the middle (though not the bottom) through a large welfare state. Contrary to the prevailing wisdom on globalization, advanced capitalism is neither footloose nor unconstrained: it thrives under democracy precisely because it cannot subvert it. Populism, inequality, and poverty are indeed great scourges of our time, but these are failures of democracy and must be solved by democracy.

Freedom in the World 2018

Freedom in the World 2018
Author: Freedom House
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 1265
Release: 2019-01-31
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1538112035

Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and fifteen territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.

Critical Theory in Critical Times

Critical Theory in Critical Times
Author: Penelope Deutscher
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2017-04-04
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 023154362X

We live in critical times. We face a global crisis in economics and finance, a global ecological crisis, and a constant barrage of international disputes. Perhaps most dishearteningly, there seems to be little faith in our ability to address such difficult problems. However, there is also a more positive sense in which these are critical times. The world's current state of flux gives us a unique window of opportunity for shaping a new international order that will allow us to cope with current and future global crises. In Critical Theory in Critical Times, eleven of the most distinguished critical theorists offer new perspectives on recent crises and transformations of the global political and economic order. Essays from Jürgen Habermas, Seyla Benhabib, Cristina Lafont, Rainer Forst, Wendy Brown, Christoph Menke, Nancy Fraser, Rahel Jaeggi, Amy Allen, Penelope Deutscher, and Charles Mills address pressing issues including international human rights and democratic sovereignty, global neoliberalism, novel approaches to the critique of capitalism, critical theory's Eurocentric heritage, and new directions offered by critical race theory and postcolonial studies. Sharpening the conceptual tools of critical theory, the contributors to Critical Theory in Critical Times reveal new ways of expanding the diverse traditions of the Frankfurt School in response to some of the most urgent and important challenges of our times.

Political Bubbles

Political Bubbles
Author: Nolan McCarty
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2013-05-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0691145016

How governmental failure led to the 2008 financial crisis—and what needs to be done to avoid another similar event Behind every financial crisis lurks a "political bubble"—policy biases that foster market behaviors leading to financial instability. Rather than tilting against risky behavior, political bubbles—arising from a potent combination of beliefs, institutions, and interests—aid, abet, and amplify risk. Demonstrating how political bubbles helped create the real estate-generated financial bubble and the 2008 financial crisis, this book argues that similar government oversights in the aftermath of the crisis undermined Washington's response to the "popped" financial bubble, and shows how such patterns have occurred repeatedly throughout US history. The authors show that just as financial bubbles are an unfortunate mix of mistaken beliefs, market imperfections, and greed, political bubbles are the product of rigid ideologies, unresponsive and ineffective government institutions, and special interests. Financial market innovations—including adjustable-rate mortgages, mortgage-backed securities, and credit default swaps—become subject to legislated leniency and regulatory failure, increasing hazardous practices. The authors shed important light on the politics that blinds regulators to the economic weaknesses that create the conditions for economic bubbles and recommend simple, focused rules that should help avoid such crises in the future. The first full accounting of how politics produces financial ruptures, Political Bubbles offers timely lessons that all sectors would do well to heed.

Democracy’s Discontent

Democracy’s Discontent
Author: Michael J. Sandel
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 436
Release: 1998-02-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780674197459

On American democracy