One of my friends lent me a book, called « The Democratic Economy : A new look at planning, markets and power », by Geoff Hodgson (Great Britain). Published in 1984 (!), it seems to be in the same line of thought that we are trying to develop, here at Economic Democracy for the Americas. In the next weeks, I’ll be sharing quotes with you as my reading progresses. Hope you enjoy.

“ The classical definition of democracy is almost forgotten today. To most people, it means little more than parliamentary or other forms of representative government. The question of real power, economic as well as political, are largely ignored. As long as there is a chance for every sane adult to have a vote in a general election every few years, then the system is said to be democratic. It does not matter if people have little or no say in matters concerning them at home or at work, or if the distribution of wealth is determined by the luck of inheritance – it is still democracy. According to this narrow and unsatisfactory definition we can live in a democracy yet be subject to the rule of hierarchy and authority for most of our lives ” (p.1).

“ [S]ubstantial democracy means the cession of real political and economic power to ‘the multitude’. A democratic economy is one which is run along these lines. It is democratic in its objectives, in that these are decided by that multitude. It is democratic in its regulation, in that it is supervised not by a hallowed central committee or an anonymous market, but by the means of structures that involve maximum popular participation. And it is democratic in its principle, in that it is not dominated by inherited wealth, impervious bureaucracy or the power of the mega-corporation ” (p.2).