Martin Wolf on the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

02/14/23 • 50 min

I think democracy and capitalism are individually in crisis in that they're not working very well and that the combination of the two in one political and economic system, which we have come to think of as the Western Way, is in crisis not only because the two component parts are in crisis, but because they're in crisis interactively.

Martin Wolf
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Martin Wolf is the chief economics commentator at the Financial Times. He has written many books, but his most recent is The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism.
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:51
The Link Between Democracy and Capitalism - 3:10
Does Capitalism Reinforce Democracy? 16:50
Status Anxiety - 26:13
Populism- 38:55

Key Links

The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by Martin Wolf
Read Martin Wolf's writings at the Financial TimesFollow Martin Wolf on Twitter @martinwolf_

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Introduction - 0:51
The Link Between Democracy and Capitalism - 3:10
Does Capitalism Reinforce Democracy? 16:50
Status Anxiety - 26:13
Populism- 38:55

Key Links

The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by Martin Wolf
Read Martin Wolf's writings at the Financial TimesFollow Martin Wolf on Twitter @martinwolf_

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/

Support the show

Previous Episode

Anna Grzymala-Busse on the Sacred Foundations of Modern Politics

While war creates the need for a state, it obliterates the capacity to deliver one. We're seeing that in Ukraine right now. That if you want to develop a state, you need peace, not war. War may create the need for a state, but peace is what allows you to build one. I think that that might be a lesson worth emphasizing, especially these days.

Anna Grzymala-Busse
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Anna Grzymała-Busse is the Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor of International Studies at Stanford University. She is also the Director of the Europe Center and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute. Her latest book is Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State.
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Introduction - 0:38
Medieval Governance - 2:42
Papal Strategies - 16:43
Law, Taxation, and Representation - 25:07
Ongoing Influences - 40:25

Key Links
Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State by Anna Grzymala-Busse
Follow Anna Grzymala-Busse on Twitter @AnnaGBusse
Learn more about Anna Grzymala-Busse
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100 Books on Democracy
Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/

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Next Episode

Jennifer Piscopo on the Constitutional Chaos in Chile

I think voters right now, remember the circus of the convention over the substance of what it did. I think there is a bit of an amnesia over the mandate for change that existed in 2019 and 2020 that the Constitution delivered on, that voters had moved away from that mandate to change by the time the Constitution went for approval.

Jennifer Piscopo
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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.
Jennifer Piscopo is an associate professor of politics at Occidental College. Recently, she coauthored a paper with Peter Siavelis in the Journal of Democracy called “Chile’s Constitutional Chaos.”
Key Highlights

Introduction - 0:42
Demands for a New Constitution - 3:04
The Constitution Making Process - 17:18
Substance of the Constitution - 33:29
Why Voters Rejected it - 36:53

Key Links

"Chile's Constitutional Chaos" in Journal of Democracy by Peter M. Siavelis and Jennifer Piscopo
Learn more about Jennifer Piscopo here
Follow Jennifer Piscopo on Twitter @jennpiscopo
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Aldo Madariaga on Neoliberalism, Democratic Deficits, and Chile
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More Episodes from the Podcast
More Information

Democracy Group
Apes of the State created all Music
Email the show at [email protected]
Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast
100 Books on Democracy
Democracy Paradox is part of the Amazon Affiliates Program and earns commissions on items purchased from links to the Amazon website. All links are to recommended books discussed in the podcast or referenced in the blog.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at https://kellogg.nd.edu/

Support the show

Democracy Paradox - Martin Wolf on the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

Transcript

The fall of the Berlin Wall was widely viewed as a triumph for democracy and capitalism. Around that time Francis Fukuyama referred to an end of history where liberal democracy had triumphed over the ideological alternatives. At the time most scholars saw democracy and capitalism as complementary. Today many portray democracy and capitalism in tension or even conflict. Obviously, some have always warned about the dangers to democracy from extreme forms of economic inequality. However, many als