The crisis of democratic capitalism / Martin Wolf.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wolf, Martin, 1946- author.

Contributor:

John Lammey Stewart Memorial Library Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democracy--Economic aspects.

Democracy.

Capitalism--Political aspects.

Capitalism.

Physical Description:

xxi, 474 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Penguin Press, 2023.

Summary:

"From the chief economics commentator of the Financial Times, a magnificent reckoning with how and why the marriage between democracy and capitalism is coming undone all over the world, and what can be done to reverse this terrifying dynamic. TARGET CONSUMER: Readers of Thomas Friedman, Paul Krugman, and Tim Snyder. Martin Wolf has long been one of the wisest voices on economic issues on the world stage. He has never been known as a sunny-side-up optimist, yet he has never been as worried in his adult life as he is today. Liberal democracy is in recession, and authoritarianism is on the rise. The ties that ought to bind open markets to free and fair elections are being strained, even spurned, even in democracy's notional heartlands, like America and England. Around the world, powerful voices argue that capitalism is better without democracy. Other voices argue that democracy is better without capitalism. This book is a forceful rejoinder to both views. Even as it offers a deep, lucid assessment of why this marriage has grown so strained, it makes clear why a divorce between capitalism and democracy would be an almost unthinkable calamity for the entire world. Democratic capitalism has many enemies and few true friends. For all its flaws, Wolf argues, it remains the best system for human flourishing the world has seen, but something has gone seriously awry: the growth of prosperity has slowed, and the division of the fruits between the hyper-successful few and the rest has become more unequal. The oligarchs have retreated to their bastions, where they take a dim view of government and its ability to invest in the public goods needed to foster opportunity and sustainability. But the waters will rise to overwhelm them too in the end. Citizenship is not just a slogan or a romantic idea; it's the only force that can save us, Wolf argues. Nothing has ever harmonized political freedom and economic freedom better than a shared faith in the common good, and nothing ever will. This wise and rigorously fact-based exploration of the whole epic human story of the dynamic between democracy and capitalism lands on the lesson that our ideals and our interests not only should align- they must. For everyone's sake"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Preface: Why I wrote this book

The fire this time

Part I On capitalism and democracy. Symbiotic twins: politics and economics

The evolution of democratic capitalism

Part II What went wrong. It's the economy, stupid

Rise of the rentier capitalism

Perils of populism

Part III Renewing democratic capitalism. Renewing capitalism

Toward a "new" New Deal

Renewing democracy

Part IV A hinge of history. Democratic capitalism in the world

Conclusion: Restoring citizenship.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 385-456) and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Schaffer fund bookplate.

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the John Lammey Stewart Memorial Library Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Wolf, Martin, 1946- Crisis of democratic capitalism

ISBN:

9780735224216

0735224218

OCLC:

1315739890