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Economics Against Democracy

Author

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  • Manuel Couret Branco

    (NICPRI/University of Évora, Évora, Portugal)

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that mainstream liberal economics is intrinsically contradictory to the democratic ideal. The first stage of this demonstration concerns the deconstruction of the naturalization process of economics, in other words the process through which putative economic laws became equivalent to natural laws, which transformed economic decisions into technical issues supposedly free from democratic debate. The second stage concerns the ways in which the market has managed to legitimize its hegemony in society and the reasons why this contributes to the erosion of democracy.JEL classification: A13, B00, P10

Suggested Citation

  • Manuel Couret Branco, 2012. "Economics Against Democracy," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 44(1), pages 23-39, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:44:y:2012:i:1:p:23-39
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maurice Obstfeld, 1998. "The Global Capital Market: Benefactor or Menace?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 9-30, Fall.
    2. Robert J. Barro, 1999. "Determinants of Democracy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages 158-183, December.
    3. Stanley L. Engerman & Kenneth Lee Sokoloff, 2002. "Factor Endowments, Inequality, and Paths of Development Among New World Economies," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2002), pages 41-110, August.
    4. Daron Acemoglu, 2003. "The Form of Property Rights: Oligarchic vs. Democratic Societies," NBER Working Papers 10037, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Lipset, Seymour Martin, 1959. "Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy1," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(1), pages 69-105, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Wensheng Xiao & Yu Tang & Bright Obuobi & Shaojian Qu & Minglan Yuan & Decai Tang, 2023. "The Influence of Rule of Law on Government’s Sustainable Economic Management: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-23, July.
    2. Manuel Couret Branco, 2016. "Human Rights Based Approach to Land Reform," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 6(4), pages 1222-1222.
    3. Urban Sušnik, 2016. "Janus Ante Portas," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 48(3), pages 417-437, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic theory; rationality; market; capitalism; democracy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A1 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics
    • B4 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • J8 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards
    • K0 - Law and Economics - - General

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