Author's Definition Of Democracy

1. What is the author’s definition of Democracy? What does he mean when he says “democracy is struggling to perform these basic functions?”

-The author’s definition of Democracy is the “system for accomplishing what can only be achieved by citizen joining together with other citizens to determine the rules of the game whose outcomes express a common good.” (Pg. 4)
-Democracy is struggling to perform basic functions because of inequality has widened, progressive income taxes, good public schools, trade unions that bargain for higher wages have eroded, income growth, loss of jobs, and Americans are less concerned about their surrounding communities.

2. What is “supercapitalism?”

-Large firms that are more competitive, global, and innovative.

3. What were the central features of democratic capitalism during the “not so golden age?” What roles did government, corporations, and unions play in this system?

-The economy was based on mass production, which
-Government began spending larger and larger amounts of money for a variety of reasons such as military social welfare programs and infrastructure.
-Corporations embraced increasing technology and became larger and more regulated by the Government. They also became more global by selling their products worldwide.
-Unions became larger and larger with almost 40% of American workers being unionized by the early 1970’s.

4. What were the benefits of “the not so golden age?” What were the downsides?

-Some benefits are large economics of scale, generating high productivity and hence significant profits, tens of millions of steady jobs, a wide distribution of the profits millions of consumers who used this largesse to purchase the goods and services produced in ever larger quantities, and large and growing middle class that stabilized the political system. (Pg. 47)
-Some downsides