Democracy and Redistribution

Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics

by Carles Boix

Employing analytical tools borrowed from game theory, Carles Boix offers a complete theory of political transitions. It is one in which political regimes ultimately depend on the nature of economic assets, their distribution among individuals, and the balance of power among different social groups. Backed by detailed historical research and extensive statistical analysis from the mid-nineteenth century, the study reveals why democracy emerged in classical Athens. It also covers the early triumph of democracy in nineteenth-century agrarian Norway, Switzerland and northeastern America as well as its failure in countries with a powerful landowning class.

Genres: Political Science, Politics, Nonfiction, Economics

284 pages, Paperback

First published July 21, 2003

Reviews

[Peyman HAGH · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a direct democracy, the people can deliberate and decide on legislation. In a representative democracy, the people choose officials through elections to make these decisions. The definition of "the people" and how authority is shared or delegated has evolved and varies among countries. Critical features of democracy include freedom of assembly, association, personal property, religion, and speech, citizenship, consent of the governed, voting rights, freedom from unjust deprivation of life and liberty by the government, and minority rights.

Income and wealth redistribution refers to the transfer of income and wealth, including physical property, from some individuals to others through social mechanisms such as taxation, welfare, public services, land reform, monetary policies, confiscation, divorce, or tort law. This term typically refers to redistribution on an economy-wide basis rather than between selected individuals.

The understanding of this phrase varies depending on personal perspectives, political ideologies, and the selective use of statistics. It is frequently used in politics to refer to perceived redistribution from those who have more to those who have less. Occasionally, although rarely, the term is used to describe laws or policies that cause redistribution in the opposite direction, from the poor to the rich.

The phrase is sometimes related to "class warfare," in which redistribution is alleged to counteract the harm caused by high-income earners and the wealthy through unfairness and discrimination.

[Michel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eyvallah baba. How to be a realist Marxist in the 21st century. Ders niteliginde diyecegim ama ders zaten xD.

[Dylan Groves · Rating 3 out of 5]

acemoglu and robinson without the inverted u