Systemic Corruption: Constitutional Ideas for an Anti-Oligarchic Republic

Description

This book reveals how the majority of modern liberal democracies have become increasingly oligarchic, suffering from a form of structural political decay first conceptualized by ancient philosophers. The book argues that the problem cannot be blamed on the actions of corrupt politicians but is built into the very fabric of our representative systems. The book provides a compelling and original genealogy of political corruption from ancient to modern thought, and shows how representative democracy was designed to protect the interests of the already rich and powerful to the detriment of the majority. Unable to contain the unrelenting force of oligarchy, especially after experimenting with neoliberal policies, most democracies have been corrupted into oligarchic democracies. The book explains how to reverse this corrupting trajectory by establishing a new counterpower strong enough to control the ruling elites. Building on the anti-oligarchic institutional innovations proposed by plebeian philosophers, the book rethinks the republic as a mixed order in which popular power is institutionalized to check the power of oligarchy. The book demonstrates how a plebeian republic would establish a network of local assemblies with the power to push for reform from the grassroots, independent of political parties and representative government. The book proposes to reverse the decay of democracy with the establishment of anti-oligarchic institutions through which common people can collectively resist the domination of the few. Copyright CONTENTS List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction: Crisis of the Representative Republic Part I Systemic Corruption and the Material Constitution 1 Corruption as Po litical Decay 2 Elitist Interpretations of the Republic 3 On Material Constitutional Thought Part II Plebeian Constitutional Thought 4 Machiavelli on the Plebeian Power to Create and Punish 5 Condorcet on Primary Assemblies 6 Luxemburg on Popu lar Emancipation 7 Arendt on the Republic of Parties and Councils Part III Anti-oligarchic Institutions for the Twenty-First Century 8 Contemporary Plebeian Thought 9 Constitutionalizing the Power of Those Who Do Not Rule Epilogue: What Is to Be Done? BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX