Developments across the millennia suggest that, even though democracies and free market economies are continuously challenged by crises and disturbances, such as natural disasters, wars, or technological revolutions, in the countries where they take roots civil liberties deepen and per capita prosperity increases. To substantiate this claim analytically, the authors emphasize the principles that make free markets a sine qua non condition for democracy and study the nature of the relationship between free market institutions and economic growth. By examining the operating principles, outcomes and challenges experienced by contemporary democracies, many lessons are drawn with regard to how governments should act in order to avoid the pitfalls inherently associated with representative democracy. To illustrate the dangers of deviating from these principles, the authors apply their findings to the Greek democracy and economy since the Second World War.
The authors of this book argue that post-war fiscal and monetary policies in the U.S. are prone to more frequent and more destabilizing domestic and international financial crises. So, in the aftermath of the one that erupted in 2008, they propose that now we are sleepwalking into another, which under the prevailing institutional circumstances could develop into a worldwide financial Armageddon. Thinking ahead of such a calamity, this book presents for the first time a model of democratic governance with privately produced money based on the case of Athens in Classical times, and explains why, if it is conceived as a benchmark for reference and adaptation, it may provide an effective way out from the dreadful predicament that state managed fiat money holds for the stability of Western-type democracies and the international financial system. As the U.S. today, Athens at that time reached the apex of its military, economic, political, cultural, and scientific influence in the world. But Athens triumphed through different approaches to democracy and fundamentally different fiscal and monetary policies than the U.S. Thus the readers will have the opportunity to learn about these differences and appreciate the potential they offer for confronting the challenges contemporary democracies face under the leadership of the U.S. The book will find audiences among academics, university students, and researchers across a wide range of fields and subfields, as well as legislators, fiscal and monetary policy makers, and economic and financial consultants.
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