Economic Democracy
The Role of Privilege in Advancing Civilization
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2805749 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Drew L Harris (0000-0001-7725-498X), Teresa M Twomey |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 78 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 1229-1249 |
| Publication date | 2019-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Economics and Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9246 • E-ISSN: 1536-7150 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/ajes.12304 |
| OpenAlex | W2989975314 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 7 |
What characterizes the progress of civilization? We propose that it can be understood as expanding democratic principles in governance and economic affairs. In both cases, progress involves advance followed by retreat. Advances come from democratizing and de-concentrating privileges. This counterbalances the opposing tendency towards monopolization. A two-by-two typology of privilege identifies four distinct categories: formal (state sanctioned) vs. informal (culture-based) privileges on one axis, and efficient vs. inefficient privileges on the other. This matrix leads to a set of propositions that, taken together, should aid in understanding how to advance economic democracy and hinder concentration of economic power: 1) remove inefficient, formal privileges, 2) collect economic rents from efficient, formal privileges, and 3) recognize sovereign rights of individuals in economic activity (which leads to removing taxes on labor and savings). We define our core terms, provide examples to illustrate meaning, provide historic examples to illustrate the feasibility of our analysis, and analyze the dynamic implications of putting our propositions into action
Civilization · Commonwealth · Democracy · Economic rent · Economic system · Economics · Law and economics · Market economy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Privilege (computing) · Sociology · Sovereignty · Corruption and Economic Development · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Economic Theory and Institutions · Law
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |