Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- PART ONE SOME PROBLEMS WITH DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND TRENDS IN THEIR EVOLUTION
- PART TWO MORALS IN POLITICS
- PART THREE SOCIAL CAPITAL
- 8 The Optimal Level of Solidarity
- 9 The Bonds of Democratic Politics – An Economic Perspective
- PART FOUR THE ROLE OF CONSTITUTIONS
- Index
- References
9 - The Bonds of Democratic Politics – An Economic Perspective
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 July 2009
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Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- PART ONE SOME PROBLEMS WITH DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND TRENDS IN THEIR EVOLUTION
- PART TWO MORALS IN POLITICS
- PART THREE SOCIAL CAPITAL
- 8 The Optimal Level of Solidarity
- 9 The Bonds of Democratic Politics – An Economic Perspective
- PART FOUR THE ROLE OF CONSTITUTIONS
- Index
- References
Summary
INTRODUCTION
The welfare state that co-emerged with industrialization and democratization can be interpreted as an attempt to make the fate of the worst off independent of their personal bonds, that is, the ability and the willingness of their personal environment to help in times of need. Majoritarian – democratic – politics tend to be redistributive. Thereby, they reduce the potential value of personal bonds. Economists could thus argue that democratic politics can be expected to lead – at least in the long run – to a loosening of personal bonds. On the other hand, an extended welfare state seems only sustainable if those who are net-payers feel some sort of general solidarity for those they are supporting. In other words, majoritarian decision-making seems to drive out personal bonds but depends on the existence of more general anonymous ones.
It has become fashionable to criticize economic thinking for being too individualist. Some communitarians claim that the individualist approach of economics drives out civic virtue (e.g., Etzioni 1988). Among public choice scholars, a new trend to criticize the simplistic behavioral assumptions of homo oeconomicus seems to be emerging: Frey (1997) states that a constitution for knaves crowds out civic virtue and Brennan and Hamlin (2000) argue in favor of a behavioral model that allows for motivational heterogeneity. In their arguments, the possibility of being interested in the public good plays a central role. Within the confines of this chapter, this could be a bond toward the community.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Rational Foundations of Democratic Politics , pp. 147 - 174Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003
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