Investing In Democracy

In this no-holds-barred look at the nation's money system, Harrington gives investors the strategies to thwart corporate domination of the earth's resources, decentralize the economy, restore democracy, tame corruption, and regain community control of financial resources.

The health of American democracy ultimately depends on our willingness and ability to work together as citizens and stakeholders in our republic. Government policies often fail to promote such collaboration. But if designed properly, they can do much to strengthen civic engagement. That is the central message of Carmen Sirianni's eloquent new book. Rather than encourage citizens to engage in civic activity, government often puts obstacles in their way. Many agencies treat citizens as passive clients rather than as community members, overlooking their ability to mobilize assets and networks to solve problems. Many citizen initiatives run up against rigid rules and bureaucratic silos, causing all but the most dedicated activists to lose heart. The unfortunate—and unnecessary—result is a palpable decline in the quality of civic life. Fortunately, growing numbers of policymakers across the country are figuring out how government can serve as a partner and catalyst for collaborative problem solving. Investing in Democracy details three such success stories: neighborhood planning in Seattle; youth civic engagement programs in Hampton, Virginia; and efforts to develop civic environmentalism at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The book explains what measures were taken and why they succeeded. It distills eight core design principles that characterize effective collaborative governance and concludes with concrete recommendations for federal policy.

"This book examines how democratic governments manage long-term policy challenges, asking how elected politicians choose between providing policy benefits in the present and investing in the future"--

'Pontusson's book does an excellent job in taking a critical look at Swedish investment politics. . . . On the whole, this book is the best overall explanation of Swedish investment politics. It gives the reader a clear basis for understanding the rise of Swedish social democracy and provides a detailed examination of the developments of industrial policy, codetermination, and wage-earner funds.'--Contemporary Sociology

Contents: 1 The MAI and Its Implications for Canadians 2 Multilateral Deregulation of Investment 3 The MAI and Competitive Austerity 4 The MAI and Labour Standards 5 The MAI and Environmental Regulation 6 The MAI and National and International Development 7 The MAI and Canada - Sectoral Impacts

Contents: 1 The MAI and Its Implications for Canadians 2 Multilateral Deregulation of Investment 3 The MAI and Competitive Austerity 4 The MAI and Labour Standards 5 The MAI and Environmental Regulation 6 The MAI and National and International Development 7 The MAI and Canada - Sectoral Impacts

In Governing for the Long Term, Alan M. Jacobs investigates the conditions under which elected governments invest in long-term social benefits at short-term social cost. Jacobs contends that, along the path to adoption, investment-oriented policies must surmount three distinct hurdles to future-oriented state action: a problem of electoral risk, rooted in the scarcity of voter attention; a problem of prediction, deriving from the complexity of long-term policy effects; and a problem of institutional capacity, arising from interest groups' preferences for distributive gains over intertemporal bargains. Testing this argument through a four-country historical analysis of pension policymaking, the book illuminates crucial differences between the causal logics of distributive and intertemporal politics and makes a case for bringing trade-offs over time to the center of the study of policymaking.

The effects of globalization on economy and society are highly contested subjects in academic and political arenas. This study brings an empirical perspective to the crucially important arguments that encapsulate the major debates in this area. Using quantitative data, this book addresses the shape and degree of internationalisation by focussing on