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Bezig met laden... Can Democracy Survive Global Capitalism?door Robert Kuttner
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. After what was a thoughtfully construed first ten chapters, culminating in a brilliant summary of why (national) democracy cannot withstand an onslaught of unfetered global finance and global capitalism, I felt severely let down by the final chapter which turned into a starry-eyed uncritical propagation of the alternative to the current system. That's the only reason why I am giving "just" 4 stars. Although I am convinced of the demerits of the current system, just simply pointing out the flaws of the current system, and then opting for an alternative instead without any form of pre-emptive critique is, in my view, just false reasoning. Still a very enjoyable read though. ( ) The book makes a big deal about how unions used to be powerful in the past and could make big changes. Yes, if you make union membership mandatory and break the legs of people who go against you, you can indeed achieve great things. Turns out when union membership is free instead of coerced people no longer fancy having to feed another parasite. I've long agreed with almost all of the points made by Kuttner in this book, but I've never had a systematic framework in which to logically relate them. In this book, Kuttner provides that framework. He outlines a history of postwar economics that is both coherent and compelling and draws on Polanyi and Keynes to make sense of why things happened the way they did. His policy recommendations in the last chapter are rational and necessary. The only thing I don't share with Kuttner, however, is his optimism that because they are necessary, they will happen. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
"'Democracies govern nations, while global capitalism runs the world. Robert Kuttner provides a clear-eyed, intellectually riveting account of how the inevitable tensions between the two have fueled neofascist nationalism here and abroad, and why the response must be a new progressive populism rooted in democracy and social justice. Timely and compelling.'--Robert B. Reich. In the past few decades, the wages of most workers have stagnated, even as productivity increased. Social supports have been cut, while corporations have achieved record profits. Downward mobility has produced political backlash. What is going on? [This book] argues that neither trade nor immigration nor technological change is responsible for the harm to workers' prospects. According to Robert Kuttner, global capitalism is to blame. By limiting workers' rights, liberating bankers, allowing corporations to evade taxation, and preventing nations from ensuring economic security, raw capitalism strikes at the very foundation of a healthy democracy. The resurgence of predatory capitalism was not inevitable. After the Great Depression, the U.S. government harnessed capitalism to democracy. Under Roosevelt's New Deal, labor unions were legalized and capital regulated. Well into the 1950s and '60s, the Western world combined a thriving economy with a secure and growing middle class. Beginning in the 1970s, as deregulated capitalism regained the upper hand, elites began to dominate politics once again; policy reversals followed. The inequality and instability that ensued would eventually, in 2016, cause disillusioned voters to support far-right faux populism. Is today's poisonous alliance of reckless finance and ultra-nationalism inevitable? Or can we find the political will to make capitalism serve democracy, and not the other way around? Charting a plan for bold action based on political precedent, [this book] is essential reading for anyone eager to reverse the decline of democracy in the West."--Dust jacket. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)320.9182Social sciences Political Science Political Science Political situation and conditions Other Geographic Classifications Other ClassificationsLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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