The Price of Democracy by Julia Cage


Authors
Julia Cage
ISBN
9780674987289
Published
Binding
Hardcover
Pages
464
Dimensions
156 x 235mm

Why and how systems of political financing and representation in Europe and North America give outsized influence to the wealthy and undermine democracy, and what we can do about it.

One person, one vote. In theory, everyone in a democracy has equal power to decide elections. But it's hardly news that, in reality, political outcomes are heavily determined by the logic of one dollar, one vote. We take the political power of money for granted. But does it have to be this way? In The Price of Democracy, Julia Cage combines economic and historical analysis with political theory to show how profoundly our systems in North America and Europe, from think tanks and the media to election campaigns, are shaped by money. She proposes fundamental reforms to bring democracy back into line with its egalitarian promise.

Cage shows how different countries have tried to develop legislation to curb the power of private money and to develop public systems to fund campaigns and parties. But these attempts have been incoherent and unsystematic. She demonstrates that it is possible to learn from these experiments in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere to design a better system that would increase political participation and trust. This would involve setting a strict cap on private donations and creating a public voucher system to give each voter an equal amount to spend in support of political parties. More radically, Cage argues that a significant fraction of seats in parliamentary assemblies should be set aside for representatives from disadvantaged socioeconomic groups.

At a time of widespread political disenchantment, The Price of Democracy is a bracing reminder of the problems we face and an inspirational guide to the potential for reform.
79.99


This product is unable to be ordered online. Please check in-store availability.
Enter your Postcode or Suburb to view availability and delivery times.

You might also like

War
55.00
55.00
_% Off
The Power Of Geography
24.99
24.99
_% Off
Chronicles Of Dissent
35.00
35.00
_% Off
Repeat
26.99
26.99
_% Off
PATRIOT
55.00
55.00
_% Off
All or Nothing
34.99
34.99
_% Off
Becoming
26.99
26.99
_% Off

RRP refers to the Recommended Retail Price as set out by the original publisher at time of release.
The RRP set by overseas publishers may vary to those set by local publishers due to exchange rates and shipping costs.
Due to our competitive pricing, we may have not sold all products at their original RRP.