Democracy and Inequality in the Age of Polarization
June 29-30 & July 1 (3.00 pm - 5.00 pm)
- 6 hour course by Pablo Beramendi (Duke University) at the Barcelona Summer School in Global Politics, Development and Security
The era of polarized politics is also the era of extreme inequality. In this seminar we revisit the historical relationship between the democracy and inequality. We discuss the mechanisms through which democracy conditions the allocations of assets and income in society over time and the channels through which inequality shapes the way democracies work. Revisiting these links provides solid grounds to address the following questions in an analytical and informed way: Is democracy in danger in the era of polarized politics? What makes democratic regimes stable? What undermines democracy and the way it fulfills its basic functions of control, representation, and responsiveness? What makes democracies die or survive?