The Trade-Off Between Capitalism and Democracy in a Historical Perspective

Abstract

The world is facing a fundamental political trilemma: we cannot simultaneously pursue democracy, national sovereignty and economic globalization. There are three possible ways out: more (national) democracy and less (global) capitalism; less (national) democracy and more (global) capitalism; more (transnational) democracy and more (global) capitalism. Many authors believe that the last one is a closed way so that a big trade-off between capitalism and democracy arises. The aim of this paper is to show that the three solutions derive from ancient traditions of thinking which are still alive. There are no impassable ways and each choice involves costs and benefits.