Systemic Corruption

Constitutional Ideas for an Anti-Oligarchic Republic

Bibliographic Data

ID24275861
AuthorsCamila Vergara (0000-0002-8012-5414, corresponding author)
Year2020
Publication date2020-09-22
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueSystemic Corruption (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherPrinceton University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.23943/princeton/9780691207537.001.0001
ISBN9780691207537
LanguageEN
Citations received12

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.

ancient political thought · counter-power · elite dominance · institutional reform · local assemblies · mixed constitution · Neoliberalism · Oligarchy · Political corruption · Representative democracy · Corruption and Economic Development · Economic and Social Issues · Political Theory and Democracy