Wealth and Power: Philosophical Perspectives

Description

Is political equality viable when a capitalist economy unequally distributes private property? This book examines the nexus between wealth and politics and asks how institutions and citizens should respond to it. Theories of democracy and property have often ignored the ways in which the rich attempt to convert their wealth into political power, implicitly assuming that politics is isolated from economic forces. This book brings the moral and political links between wealth and power into clear focus. The chapters are divided into three thematic sections. Part I analyses wealth and politics from the perspective of various political traditions, such as liberalism, republicanism, anarchism, and Marxism. Part II addresses the economic sphere, and looks at the political influence of corporations, philanthropists, and commons-based organisations. Finally, Part III turns to the political sphere and looks at the role of political parties and constitutions, and phenomena such as corruption and lobbying. Wealth and Power: Philosophical Perspectives will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in political philosophy, political science, economics, and law. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Contents Author Biographies Preface 1. Introduction: The Wealth-Power Nexus PART I: Theoretical Orientations 2. What about Ethos? Republican Institutions, Oligarchic Democracy, and Norms of Political Equality 3. Two Liberal Egalitarian Perspectives on Wealth and Power 4. Public Choice and Political Equality 5. Private Wealth and Political Domination: A Marxian Approach 6. Anarchism and Redistribution PART II: Power in the Economic Sphere 7. Why Does Worker Participation Matter? Three Considerations in Favour of Worker Participation in Corporate Governance 8. Taming the Corporate Leviathan: How to Properly Politicise Corporate Purpose? 9. The Power of Big Tech Corporations as Modern Bigness and a Vocabulary for Shaping Competition Law as Counter-Power 10. Economic Power and Democratic Forbearance: The Case of Corporate Social Responsibility and Philanthropy 11. Independence in the Commons: How Group Ownership Realises Basic Non-Domination PART III: Wealth and Democratic Institutions 12. Hidden in Plain Sight: How Lobby Organisations Undermine Democracy 13. No Money, No Party: The Role of Political Parties in Electoral Campaigns 14. Constitutions against Oligarchy 15. Automation, Desert, and the Case for Capital Grants 16. The Power of Private Creditors and the Need for Reform of the International Financial Architecture Index