The Democratic Marketplace: How a More Equal Economy Can Save Our Political Ideals

Western countries “need to reform their economic systems or they will lose their democracies,” according to this forceful account from political philosopher and economist Herzog (Citizen Knowledge). She argues that, in the public imagination, too much overlap has emerged between consumerism and democracy (with calls to “vote with your dollar” intermingling with perceptions of candidate selection as a consumer choice), and that, because democracy cannot flourish without a citizenry with a robust understanding of its principles, this ideological melding of the economy and democracy is hurtling the West toward a crisis. To counter the problem, she calls for changes to the economy that will make it more democratic, so that some semblance of democratic participation is reestablished in the public sphere; these include tried and tested ideas from Europe’s more robust social democracies, like reducing working hours, mandating that a company must have some of its own employees sit on its board, and robust civic associations. While not going so far as recent calls for degrowth from the far left, Herzog argues for growth to be de-emphasized in favor of more urgent goals like sustainability and reducing income inequality. While well researched and presented, the arguments do not feel particularly unique. Still, it’s a comprehensive overview of the increasingly oft-made case that economic inequality threatens the stability of the West. (Aug.)