How 'demos' met 'cracy
Debt, Inequality, Money
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5761331 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ανδρέας Αντωνιάδης (0000-0002-6240-7389, University of Sussex, corresponding author), Andreas Antoniades (0009-0004-9864-0440), Ugo Panizza (0000-0002-7354-1583, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 727-743 |
| Publication date | 2017-11-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Third World Thematics A TWQ Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2379-9978 • E-ISSN: 2380-2014 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/23802014.2018.1490628 |
| OpenAlex | W2886769375 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
The recurrence of ever more destructive economic crises and patterns of pervasive indebtedness and inequality threaten the social fabric of our societies. Our main responses to these trends have been partial, focusing on symptoms rather than causes, often exacerbating rather than improving the underlying socio-economic dynamics. To reflect on these conditions and on ‘what needs to be done’ this article turns to a similar socio-economic malaise faced by the city-state of Athens in the 6th century BC. Most historical studies dealing with this crisis focus on the comprehensive debt relief policy (seisachteia) implemented by Solon. We argue that this debt relief, although necessary, was the least important of Solon’s reforms. Solon read the problem of debt as a problem of money so he went on to reform the monetary and exchange system. However, he did not think that these reforms alone could restore socioeconomic sustainability. For this, a redefinition of what was counted as valuable economic activity and as income had also to take place. Moreover, for all these to work, citizens had to be involved more in the commons. Far from only achieving socioeconomic sustainability, these reforms gave rise gradually to the demos that we meet in the golden age of Democracy. Such a broad historical horizon may help us grasp better the problems, stakes and challenges of our times
Debt · Economics · Inequality · Keynesian economics · Macroeconomics · Monetary economics · Economic Theory and Policy · Economic, financial, and policy analysis · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Mathematics
Rising inequality as a cause of the present crisis
Why Did the West Extend the Franchise? Democracy, Inequality, and Growth in Historical Perspective
Redistribution, Inequality, and Growth
Between Debt and the Devil
Divergence via Europeanisation
The End of Alchemy
Globalisation, Market Civilisation, and Disciplinary Neoliberalism
House of Debt
The Economic Policy of Solon
Aristotle on Solon's Reform of Coinage and Weights
Privatised Keynesianism
Debtfare States and the Poverty Industry
The global debt governance system for developing countries
Sri Lanka's debt troubles in the new development finance landscape
Funding Hungary
Fiscal crises in Barbados
Debt in the super-periphery
Debt relief initiatives 20 years on and implications of the new development finance landscape
| Highly cited | No |
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