Democracy, Humane Economics, And a Culture of Enterprise (Report‪)‬

Robust citizenship is the lifeblood of any democratic community. The practice of such citizenship requires the existence inter alia of certain economic preconditions that provide the needed wealth foundations for its existence. Effective citizenship, as Przeworski (1995) argues, requires certain "economic prerequisites" such as a "modicum of material security, education, and access to information" (35). The literature addressing the importance of education and access to information for democratic citizenship is vast (e.g., Glaeser, Ponzetto, and Shleifer 2007; Chapman and Hunt 2006; Heritier 2003; Rizvi 2003; Englund 2000; Murdock and Golding 1989). The economic preconditions of a robust democratic citizenship have received much attention. Some scholars have suggested that free-market economies best provide the needed moral, political, and wealth foundations not only for a robust citizenship but also for human flourishing (e.g., Ropke 1998, Beetham 1993, Hayek 1988, Friedman 1962). Others have vigorously proposed that free-market economies not only facilitate catastrophic conditions but also perpetuate inequalities and political apathy and, therefore, that the needed correctives are the virtues of some type of state intervention (e.g., Epstein 1996, MacPherson 1973, Tawney 1964). While the debate regarding which economic arrangement best facilitates a thriving political life and humanity is certainly not new (and perhaps to some is akin to the proverbial "beating a dead horse"), it is by no means trivial or untimely in our current era. As Blaug and Schwarzmantel (2000) argue, "democracy is faced with deep problems in both theory and practice" given the "complexity of modern politics and the increasing globalization of the market" (2). If democracies are not merely to survive but to thrive, then a robust citizenship is needed that allows participants to fulfill their human capacities in the quest and realization of the common good. The question that must be considered is whether a free-enterprise economy is still best suited for this important task. As has already been suggested, much scholarship exists both praising and bemoaning the role of free-enterprise economics in advancing effective citizenship. Given the empirical realities of the failed state-controlled economies of communist regimes in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (along with their destruction of human life), there is a lack of intellectual and moral weight to arguments that suggest that state intervention and planning of economic and civic life is in any way virtuous or even desirable. Yet, it must be noted, that the current global financial crisis has led many to suggest that the end of free-enterprise economics is near and that arguments supporting the latter also lack any moral weight (Somers 2008, Stiglitz 2008, Faiola 2008. See also Kovel 2007 and Gibson-Graham 2006). Critics from both the left and the right have suggested with renewed vigor that enterprise economies are deeply inhumane, fostering a culture of selfishness, oppression, and narcissism that leaves nothing untouched. For those on the religious or secular left, the answer is simply to think of novel ways in which to use state power to foster equality and human development. While these proposals are unique given the current context, there is ultimately nothing new in these schemes.