The Democratic Marketplace

Democracy has been hollowed out by capitalism. A narrow view of markets and their aims—prioritizing efficiency, profit, and growth—now dominates thinking about democracy itself. Citizens are ignorant of the deep principles of self-governance, having long since adopted a facile equation between democracy and voting as a consumer choice. Lisa Herzog argues that democracy is still possible, but only if democratic values get embedded in everyday experience—including economic experience. That requires new ways of thinking about markets and their goals, and real reforms.

Lisa speaks about the foundational structures of a democratic economy, in which markets are not just tools for maximizing profit, but instead balance growth with goals like ecological sustainability and the preservation of time outside of work. These are not utopian dreams, Herzog contends. The proposals of democratic economics are already being tested around the world. And the shift in social norms that are needed is already under way.

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ABOUT The Speaker

lisa Herzog is Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Groningen. She works at the intersection of political philosophy and economic thought. Herzog has published on the philosophical dimensions of markets (both historical and systemical), liberalism and social justice, ethics in organizations and the future of work. She currently focuses on workplace democracy, professional ethics, and the role of knowledge in democracies. She is a co-editor of the interdisciplinary journal Review of Social Economy.