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Democratic Processes and Financial Markets
by William Bernhard David LeblangShows how elections, cabinet formations, and government dissolutions affect asset markets.
Democratic Reason: Politics, Collective Intelligence, and the Rule of the Many
by Hélène LandemoreIndividual decision making can often be wrong due to misinformation, impulses, or biases. Collective decision making, on the other hand, can be surprisingly accurate. In Democratic Reason, Hélène Landemore demonstrates that the very factors behind the superiority of collective decision making add up to a strong case for democracy. She shows that the processes and procedures of democratic decision making form a cognitive system that ensures that decisions taken by the many are more likely to be right than decisions taken by the few. Democracy as a form of government is therefore valuable not only because it is legitimate and just, but also because it is smart. Landemore considers how the argument plays out with respect to two main mechanisms of democratic politics: inclusive deliberation and majority rule. In deliberative settings, the truth-tracking properties of deliberation are enhanced more by inclusiveness than by individual competence. Landemore explores this idea in the contexts of representative democracy and the selection of representatives. She also discusses several models for the "wisdom of crowds" channeled by majority rule, examining the trade-offs between inclusiveness and individual competence in voting. When inclusive deliberation and majority rule are combined, they beat less inclusive methods, in which one person or a small group decide. Democratic Reason thus establishes the superiority of democracy as a way of making decisions for the common good.
Democratic Socialism in Britain: Classic Texts in Economic and Political Thought, 1825-1952
by David ReismanThe texts in this collection of 10 volumes demonstrate both the diversity and continuity in British theories of democratic socialism. The selection encompasses the Ricardian socialists, the Christian socialists, and the Fabian socialists. Volume 1 includes ‘Labour Rewarded and ‘Labour Defended’.
Democratic Socialism in Britain, Vol. 10: Classic Texts in Economic and Political Thought, 1825-1952
by David ReismanThe texts in this collection of 10 volumes demonstrate both the diversity and continuity in British theories of democratic socialism. The selection encompasses the Ricardian socialists, the Christian socialists, and the Fabian socialists. Volume 10 includes ‘In Place of Fear’ by Aneurin Bevan.
Democratic Socialism in Britain, Vol. 2: Classic Texts in Economic and Political Thought, 1825-1952
by David ReismanThe texts in this collection of 10 volumes demonstrate both the diversity and continuity in British theories of democratic socialism. The selection encompasses the Ricardian socialists, the Christian socialists, and the Fabian socialists. Volume 2 includes contributions from .Frederick Denison, Maurice Charles Kingsley and John Malcolm Ludlow, the ‘Christian Socialists’.
Democratic Socialism in Britain, Vol. 3: Classic Texts in Economic and Political Thought, 1825-1952
by David ReismanThe texts in this collection of 10 volumes demonstrate both the diversity and continuity in British theories of democratic socialism. The selection encompasses the Ricardian socialists, the Christian socialists, and the Fabian socialists. Volume 3 includes the selected writings of William Morris.
Democratic Socialism in Britain, Vol. 4: Classic Texts in Economic and Political Thought, 1825-1952
by David ReismanThe texts in this collection of 10 volumes demonstrate both the diversity and continuity in British theories of democratic socialism. The selection encompasses the Ricardian socialists, the Christian socialists, and the Fabian socialists. Volume 4 includes the Fabian Essays, edited by Bernard Shaw.
Democratic Socialism in Britain, Vol. 5: Classic Texts in Economic and Political Thought, 1825-1952
by David ReismanThe texts in this collection of 10 volumes demonstrate both the diversity and continuity in British theories of democratic socialism. The selection encompasses the Ricardian socialists, the Christian socialists, and the Fabian socialists. Volume 5 includes ‘Old Worlds for New; A Study of the Post-Industrial State’ by Arthur J. Penty.
Democratic Socialism in Britain, Vol. 6: Classic Texts in Economic and Political Thought, 1825-1952
by David ReismanThe texts in this collection of 10 volumes demonstrate both the diversity and continuity in British theories of democratic socialism. The selection encompasses the Ricardian socialists, the Christian socialists, and the Fabian socialists. Volume 6 includes ‘A Grammar of Politics’ by Harold Laski.
Democratic Socialism in Britain, Vol. 7: Classic Texts in Economic and Political Thought, 1825-1952
by David ReismanThe texts in this collection of 10 volumes demonstrate both the diversity and continuity in British theories of democratic socialism. The selection encompasses the Ricardian socialists, the Christian socialists, and the Fabian socialists. Volume 7 includes ‘Principles of Economic Planning’ by G.D.H.Cole.
Democratic Socialism in Britain, Vol. 8: Classic Texts in Economic and Political Thought, 1825-1952
by David ReismanThe texts in this collection of 10 volumes demonstrate both the diversity and continuity in British theories of democratic socialism. The selection encompasses the Ricardian socialists, the Christian socialists, and the Fabian socialists. Volume 8 includes 'The Socialist Case' by Douglas Jay.
Democratic Socialism in Britain, Vol. 9: Classic Texts in Economic and Political Thought, 1825-1952
by David ReismanThe texts in this collection of 10 volumes demonstrate both the diversity and continuity in British theories of democratic socialism. The selection encompasses the Ricardian socialists, the Christian socialists, and the Fabian socialists. Volume 9 includes the 'New Fabian Essays' edited by Richard Crossman.
Democratic Sustainability in a New Era of Localism (Routledge Studies in Sustainability)
by John StantonChange and development are going on all around us. On both an international platform, as well as at the local governmental and community level, governments, decision and policy makers constantly strive to improve the world in which we live, seeking to make it better and to improve quality of life. This book focuses on such development in the context of localism in the UK. It strips the principle of local sustainability down to its constituent parts and considers the extent to which it can be said to be central to local life. As part of this, it presents the case for the importance of accountability and citizen participation in achieving objectives aligned with sustainability, and illustrates the relationships that these principles share. On this foundation, it evaluates local government in the UK, as well as examples of community-led regeneration initiatives and bodies, and seeks to determine both the nature of their pursuit of sustainability and the extent to which accountability and citizen participation play a part in that pursuit. It shows that local sustainability is enhanced by accountability and citizen participation; those principles ensuring that local people can be central to the process. Whilst its evaluations of local democratic systems in the UK reveal certain issues as regards the extent to which this is reflected in practice, it at least demonstrates an enthusiasm and awareness of the important role that accountability and citizen participation can play in the process of local sustainability. The book is aimed at legal academics, with relevance also to students in law, environmental politics and sustainable development, as well as those working in government policy and political practice.
Democratic Work: Radical Democracy and the Future of Labour (Marx, Engels, and Marxisms)
by Alexis CukierThis book proposes a radical transformation of labour institutions, in order to lay the foundation for the democratization of society rather than capitalist accumulation. Using an empirical analysis of the contemporary world of work, Alexis Cukier examines the democratic meaning of today’s critique of work organization and questions the theoretical models (linked to class struggles and to industrial democracy) to conceive of a "democratic work." Considering particular historical experiments (such as cooperatives, self-management, worker’s councils) that try to realize democracy at work, this book also analyzes the political issue of "democratic work" in relation to issues such as labour law, feminist struggles and political ecology. Ultimately, this book proposes some institutional paths that could overtake the divide between the rights of the citizens and the rights of the workers, arguing finally: if we really want to radicalize democracy, we should begin with democratizing work.
The Democratic Worker-Owned Firm: A New Model for the East and West (Routledge Revivals)
by David EllermanWhen this book was first published in 1990, there were massive economic changes in the East and significant economic challenges to the West. This critical analysis of democratic theory discusses the principles and forces that push both socialist and capitalist economies toward a common ground of workplace democratization. This book is a comprehensive approach to the theory and practice of the "Democratic firm" – from philosophical first principles to legal theory and finally to some of the details of financial structure. The argument for economic democracy supports private property, free markets and entrepreneurship for instance, but fundamentally it replaces the employer/employee relationship with democratic membership in the firm. For students, teachers, policy makers and others interested in the application of democracy to the workplace, this book will serve as a manifesto and a standard reference on the topic.
Democratization and Market Reform in Developing and Transitional Countries: Think Tanks as Catalysts (Routledge Research in Comparative Politics)
by James G. McgannThis book explores the pivotal role of think tanks in the democratization and economic reform movements by evaluating their overall effect on the transformation process in developing and transitional countries around the world. James G. McGann assesses twenty-three think tanks, located in nine countries and four regions of the world: Chile, Peru, Poland, Slovakia, South Africa, Botswana, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, that have most impacted political and economic transitions in their respective countries. The author examines the role they played in the process of democratization and market reform during the late 80s and 90s and identifies the importance of think tanks in these processes by evaluating their overall effect on the policymaking process. He argues in the early stages of a transition from an authoritarian regime to an open and democratic society the activities of think tanks are especially critical, and they have provided a civil society safety net to support these fragile democracies. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, democratization, development, economic development and civil society.
Democratization and Memories of Violence: Ethnic minority rights movements in Mexico, Turkey, and El Salvador (Routledge Global Cooperation Series)
by Mneesha GellmanEthnic minority communities make claims for cultural rights from states in different ways depending on how governments include them in policies and practices of accommodation or assimilation. However, institutional explanations don’t tell the whole story, as individuals and communities also protest, using emotionally compelling narratives about past wrongs to justify their claims for new rights protections. Democratization and Memories of Violence: Ethnic minority rights movements in Mexico, Turkey, and El Salvador examines how ethnic minority communities use memories of state and paramilitary violence to shame states into cooperating with minority cultural agendas such as the right to mother tongue education. Shaming and claiming is a social movement tactic that binds historic violence to contemporary citizenship. Combining theory with empirics, the book accounts for how democratization shapes citizen experiences of interest representation and how memorialization processes challenge state regimes of forgetting at local, state, and international levels. Democratization and Memories of Violence draws on six case studies in Mexico, Turkey, and El Salvador to show how memory-based narratives serve as emotionally salient leverage for marginalized communities to facilitate state consideration of minority rights agendas. This book will be of interest to postgraduates and researchers in comparative politics, development studies, sociology, international studies, peace and conflict studies and area studies.
Democratization and Memories of Violence: Ethnic minority rights movements in Mexico, Turkey, and El Salvador (ISSN)
by Mneesha GellmanEthnic minority communities make claims for cultural rights from states in different ways depending on how governments include them in policies and practices of accommodation or assimilation. However, institutional explanations don’t tell the whole story, as individuals and communities also protest, using emotionally compelling narratives about past wrongs to justify their claims for new rights protections. Democratization and Memories of Violence: Ethnic minority rights movements in Mexico, Turkey, and El Salvador examines how ethnic minority communities use memories of state and paramilitary violence to shame states into cooperating with minority cultural agendas such as the right to mother tongue education. Shaming and claiming is a social movement tactic that binds historic violence to contemporary citizenship. Combining theory with empirics, the book accounts for how democratization shapes citizen experiences of interest representation and how memorialization processes challenge state regimes of forgetting at local, state, and international levels. Democratization and Memories of Violence draws on six case studies in Mexico, Turkey, and El Salvador to show how memory-based narratives serve as emotionally salient leverage for marginalized communities to facilitate state consideration of minority rights agendas.This book will be of interest to postgraduates and researchers in comparative politics, development studies, sociology, international studies, peace and conflict studies and area studies.
Democratization and the State: Competence, Control, and Performance in Indonesia's Civil Service (Elements in Political Economy)
by Jan Henryk PierskallaDoes democratization lead to more meritocracy in the civil service? The Element argues that electoral accountability increases the value of competence over personal loyalty in the civil service. While this resembles an application of merit principles, it does not automatically reduce patronage politics or improve public goods provision. Competent civil servants are often used to facilitate the distribution of clientelistic goods at mass scale to win competitive elections. The selection of competent but less loyal civil servants requires the increased use of control mechanisms, like the timing of promotions, to ensure their compliance. The Element tests these claims using novel micro-level data on promotions in Indonesia's civil service before and after democratization in 1999. The Element shows that national- and local-level elections led to increased promotion premiums for educated civil servants, and simultaneously generated electoral cycles in the timing of promotions, but did little to improve public goods provision.
Democratization Without Representation: The Politics of Small Industry in Mexico (G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects)
by Kenneth C. ShadlenWhen countries become more democratic, new opportunities arise for individuals and groups to participate in politics and influence the making of policy. But democratization does not ensure better representation for everyone, and indeed some sectors of society are ill-equipped to take advantage of these new opportunities. Small industry in Mexico, Kenneth Shadlen shows, is an excellent example of a sector whose representation decreased during democratization. Shadlen’s analysis focuses on the basic characteristics of small firms that complicate the process of securing representation in both authoritarian and democratic environments. He then shows how increased pluralism and electoral competition served to exacerbate the political problems facing the sector during the course of democratization in Mexico. These characteristics created problems for small firms both in acting collectively through interest associations and civil society organizations and in wielding power within political parties. The changes that democratization effected in the structure of corporatism put small industry at a significant disadvantage in the policy-making arena even while there was general agreement on the crucial importance of this sector in the new neoliberal economy, especially for generating employment. The final chapter extends the analysis by making comparisons with the experience of small industry representation in Argentina and Brazil.Shadlen uses extensive interviews and archival research to provide new evidence and insights on the difficult challenges of interest aggregation and representation for small industry. He conducted interviews with a wide range of owners and managers of small firms, state and party officials, and leaders of business associations and civil society organizations. He also did research at the National Archives in Mexico City and in the archives of the most important business organizations for small industry in the post-World War II period.
Democratizing Development: Struggles for Rights and Social Justice in India
by Ranjita MohantySince its inception, the Indian model of development has the twin objectives of economic development and social justice woven together. This has shaped both policy and popular aspiration in post-Independence India. In this context, Democratizing Development: Struggles for Rights and Social Justice in India explores and analyses how development gets vitiated by multiple powers and subverts the democratic ideals of participation, equality, inclusion, redistribution and equity, and how the poor and socially marginalized struggle to make development democratic. Examining development through the lens of the most marginalized, the book shows the democratic potential of development as well as the result of its absence. The book contains empirically drawn cases and supplements these with theoretical and analytical arguments. It contributes to contemporary debates in social science such as democracy, social justice, civil society, social mobilization, social inclusion, redistribution and participatory governance.
Democratizing Finance
by Fred Block Robert HockettWhat if our financial system were organized to the benefit of the many rather than simply empowering the few?Robert Hockett and Fred Block argue that an entirely different financial system is both desirable and possible. They outline concrete steps that could get us there. Financial systems move the worlds savings from investment to investment, chasing the highest rates of return. They run on profit. But what if investment went to the enterprises or institutions that provided things that the majority of people would prioritize?Democratizing Finance includes six responses that seek to amend, elaborate, and challenge the arguments developed by Hockett and Block. Some of the core arguments put forward by other contributors include calls for the rapid elimination of private financial entities, the dilemmas of the politics associated with financial reforms, and the fate of parallel proposals advanced in the US in the 1930s.
Democratizing Finance: The Radical Promise of Fintech
by Marion Laboure Nicolas DeffrennesWe are only in the early stages of a broader revolution that will impact every aspect of the global economy, including commerce and government services. Coming financial technology innovations could improve the quality of life for all people. Over the past few decades, digital technology has transformed finance. Financial technology (fintech) has enabled more people with fewer resources, in more places around the world, to take advantage of banking, insurance, credit, investment, and other financial services. Marion Laboure and Nicolas Deffrennes argue that these changes are only the tip of the iceberg. A much broader revolution is under way that, if steered correctly, will lead to huge and beneficial social change. The authors describe the genesis of recent financial innovations and how they have helped consumers in rich and poor countries alike by reducing costs, increasing accessibility, and improving convenience and efficiency. They connect the dots between early innovations in financial services and the wider revolution unfolding today. Changes may disrupt traditional financial services, especially banking, but they may also help us address major social challenges: opening new career paths for millennials, transforming government services, and expanding the gig economy in developed markets. Fintech could lead to economic infrastructure developments in rural areas and could facilitate emerging social security and healthcare systems in developing countries. The authors make this case with a rich combination of economic theory and case studies, including microanalyses of the effects of fintech innovations on individuals, as well as macroeconomic perspectives on fintech’s impact on societies. While celebrating fintech’s achievements to date, Laboure and Deffrennes also make recommendations for overcoming the obstacles that remain. The stakes—improved quality of life for all people—could not be higher.
Democratizing Innovation
by Eric Von HippelInnovation is rapidly becoming democratized. Users, aided by improvements in computer and communications technology, increasingly can develop their own new products and services. These innovating users -- both individuals and firms -- often freely share their innovations with others, creating user-innovation communities and a rich intellectual commons. In Democratizing Innovation, Eric von Hippel looks closely at this emerging system of user-centered innovation. He explains why and when users find it profitable to develop new products and services for themselves, and why it often pays users to reveal their innovations freely for the use of all.The trend toward democratized innovation can be seen in software and information products -- most notably in the free and open-source software movement -- but also in physical products. Von Hippel's many examples of user innovation in action range from surgical equipment to surfboards to software security features. He shows that product and service development is concentrated among "lead users," who are ahead on marketplace trends and whose innovations are often commercially attractive.Von Hippel argues that manufacturers should redesign their innovation processes and that they should systematically seek out innovations developed by users. He points to businesses -- the custom semiconductor industry is one example -- that have learned to assist user-innovators by providing them with toolkits for developing new products. User innovation has a positive impact on social welfare, and von Hippel proposes that government policies, including R&D subsidies and tax credits, should be realigned to eliminate biases against it. The goal of a democratized user-centered innovation system, says von Hippel, is well worth striving for. An electronic version of this book is available under a Creative Commons license.
Democratizing Money?: Debating Legitimacy In Monetary Reform Proposals
by Beat WeberA lack of confidence in monetary institutions after the recent financial crash has led to a resurgence of public debate on the topic of monetary reform, reaching a level of political prominence unprecedented since the period after the Great Depression. <P><P>Whether privatizing money with Bitcoin, regionalizing it with regional currencies, or turning it into a state monopoly with either sovereign money or 'Modern Monetary Theory, the only economic utopians able to draw public attention in our post-crash world seem to be monetary reformers. Weber provides the first proper economic analysis of these modern monetary reform proposals, exposing their flaws and fallacies through critical examination.<P> From academics studying the political economy of finance to economic sociologists studying financial institutions, this book will appeal to scholars and students interested in monetary reform proposals and the viability of alternative currency systems, and more broadly, readers seeking a contemporary understanding of what money is and how it works today. <P> Provides an introductory explanation of how the monetary system works - how money is created, circulated and administered - whilst also highlighting concerns about potential issues in the system.<P> Gives the reader a better understanding of the post-crash financial landscape, and an academic grasp of the new concepts driving the headlines.<P> Offers a presentation, comparison, and critique of each of the major contemporary monetary reform proposals, rather than a weighted focus on one particular concept.<P>