Rational Foundations of Democratic Politics

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511510519

Democracy is widely accepted today, perhaps as never before, as the most suitable form of government. But what is democracy, and does it always produce good government? Democracy is often associated with the existence of competitive elections. But theory and experience suggest that these are not sufficient for democracy to function reasonably well. In this book, which was originally published in 2003, a number of experts from North America and Europe use a rational choice approach to understand the 'foundations' of democracy - what makes democracy successful, and why. In doing so, they consider diverse problems of democratic governance such as the importance of morals or virtue in political life, negative advertising, the role of social capital and civil society in sustaining democracy, the constitutional and cultural prerequisites of democracy, and the interaction of democracy and markets.

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv
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Contents
pp v-vi
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List of Contributors
pp vii-viii
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1 - Introduction
pp 1-12
- By Albert Breton, Professor of Economics Emeritus University of Toronto, Gianluigi Galeotti, Professor of Public Finance Università di Roma, (La Sapienza), Pierre Salmon, Professor of Economics Université de Bourgogne, Ronald Wintrobe, Professor of Economics University of Western Ontario
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PART ONE - SOME PROBLEMS WITH DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND TRENDS IN THEIR EVOLUTION
pp 13-14
- By Albert Breton, Professor of Economics Emeritus University of Toronto, Gianluigi Galeotti, Professor of Public Finance Università di Roma, (La Sapienza), Pierre Salmon, Professor of Economics Université de Bourgogne, Ronald Wintrobe, Professor of Economics University of Western Ontario
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2 - Demobilized and Demoralized: Negative Ads and Loosening Bonds
pp 15-29
- By Michael C. Munger, Department of Political Science, Duke University
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3 - Turning “Citizens” into “Consumers”: Economic Growth and the Level of Public Discourse
pp 30-43
- By Stergios Skaperdas, Department of Economics, University of California at Irvine
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4 - Economic and Cultural Prerequisites for Democracy
pp 44-67
- By Roger D. Congleton, Center for Public Choice, George Mason University
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5 - Civil Society and the Contemporary Social Order
pp 68-90
- By Frédérique Chaumont-Chancelier, Centre d'Analyse Economique, Univerité d'Aix-Marselle III
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PART TWO - MORALS IN POLITICS
pp 91-92
- By Albert Breton, Professor of Economics Emeritus University of Toronto, Gianluigi Galeotti, Professor of Public Finance Università di Roma, (La Sapienza), Pierre Salmon, Professor of Economics Université de Bourgogne, Ronald Wintrobe, Professor of Economics University of Western Ontario
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6 - When Does Altruism Overcome the Intransitivity of Income Redistribution?
pp 93-100
- By Donald Wittman, University of California at Santa Cruz
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7 - Democratic Resilience and the Necessity of Virtue
pp 101-122
- By Alan Hamlin, Department of Economics, University of Southampton
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PART THREE - SOCIAL CAPITAL
pp 123-124
- By Albert Breton, Professor of Economics Emeritus University of Toronto, Gianluigi Galeotti, Professor of Public Finance Università di Roma, (La Sapienza), Pierre Salmon, Professor of Economics Université de Bourgogne, Ronald Wintrobe, Professor of Economics University of Western Ontario
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8 - The Optimal Level of Solidarity
pp 125-146
- By Ronald Wintrobe, Department of Economics, University of Western Ontario
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9 - The Bonds of Democratic Politics – An Economic Perspective
pp 147-174
- By Stefan Voigt, Department of Economics, University of Kassel
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PART FOUR - THE ROLE OF CONSTITUTIONS
pp 175-176
- By Albert Breton, Professor of Economics Emeritus University of Toronto, Gianluigi Galeotti, Professor of Public Finance Università di Roma, (La Sapienza), Pierre Salmon, Professor of Economics Université de Bourgogne, Ronald Wintrobe, Professor of Economics University of Western Ontario
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10 - Voting Rules: A Constitutional Quandary
pp 177-197
- By Gianluigi Galeotti, Università di Roma, La Sapienza
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11 - Citizens' Sovereignty, Constitutional Commitments, and Renegotiation: Original versus Continuing Agreement
pp 198-221
- By Viktor J. Vanberg, Department of Economics, University of Freiburg
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12 - Constitutional Rules and Competitive Politics: Their Effects on Secessionism
pp 222-246
- By Albert Breton, Professor of Economics Emeritus University of Toronto, Pierre Salmon, Professor of Economics Université de Bourgogne
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Index
pp 247-262
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Rational Foundations of Democratic Politics

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

Contents
pp v-vi

List of Contributors
pp vii-viii

1 - Introduction
pp 1-12

PART ONE - SOME PROBLEMS WITH DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND TRENDS IN THEIR EVOLUTION
pp 13-14

2 - Demobilized and Demoralized: Negative Ads and Loosening Bonds
pp 15-29

3 - Turning “Citizens” into “Consumers”: Economic Growth and the Level of Public Discourse
pp 30-43

4 - Economic and Cultural Prerequisites for Democracy
pp 44-67

5 - Civil Society and the Contemporary Social Order
pp 68-90

PART TWO - MORALS IN POLITICS
pp 91-92

6 - When Does Altruism Overcome the Intransitivity of Income Redistribution?
pp 93-100

7 - Democratic Resilience and the Necessity of Virtue
pp 101-122

PART THREE - SOCIAL CAPITAL
pp 123-124

8 - The Optimal Level of Solidarity
pp 125-146

9 - The Bonds of Democratic Politics – An Economic Perspective
pp 147-174

PART FOUR - THE ROLE OF CONSTITUTIONS
pp 175-176

10 - Voting Rules: A Constitutional Quandary
pp 177-197

11 - Citizens' Sovereignty, Constitutional Commitments, and Renegotiation: Original versus Continuing Agreement
pp 198-221

12 - Constitutional Rules and Competitive Politics: Their Effects on Secessionism
pp 222-246

Index
pp 247-262

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