Democracy and the Market
Democracy and the Market
This chapter first characterizes the essential properties of the market economy. It then comments on how the market economy both supports and undermines in part the central values of a democratic society. Finally, it describes how collective action through democratic government can, in principle, temper the antidemocratic consequences of market forces. It argues that, in practice, political intervention in the market often promotes one democratic value, typically equality, over both economic efficiency and another democratic value, individual freedom. It concludes by suggesting how public intervention in markets might be structured to achieve greater equality of opportunity or outcomes at minimal sacrifice of economic efficiency or freedom.
Keywords: market economy, democratic society, collective action, democratic government, political intervention, equality
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