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Title: Democracy at Risk: Rescuing Main Street from Wall Street by Jeff Gates ISBN: 0-7382-0483-8 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 10 April, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00

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Average Customer Rating: 3.67 (3 reviews)

Rating: 3
Summary: A vision for a populist form of capitalism
Comment: In "Democracy at Risk", author Jeff Gates opines that democracy in the United States has actually become a plutocracy. Average citizens have little to no influence with legislators when compared with the access extremely wealthy capitalists have gained from years of dominating the financing of the major political parties. Declining voter turnout suggests that citizens are resigned to a condition of powerlessness, one of many symptoms of an unhealthy democracy.

Against this backdrop, Gates believes that the time is ripe for a new form of populist politics. He boldly sketches out a proposed populist political agenda that he believes could connect with today's disillusioned voters. Gates includes an interesting section where he describes the type of personality an ideal populist Presidential candidate might need to possess in order to attract voters and deal effectively with opposition parties.

As a veteran Beltway insider and architect of the legislation that created ESOPs (employee stock ownership plans) in the 1970s, Gates knows a lot about finance, ownership and public policy. He shows how current laws privilege finance at the expense of labor and the environment but argues that such laws can be changed if the people demand it. Therefore, Gates believes that an important task for a populist party will be to educate the public about the link between concentrated financial power and ownership with economic and environmental sustainability.

Gates writes with knowledge and passion, but at times the rush of ideas is so intense that the book tends to wander off course. For example, there are dozens of brilliant and imaginative ideas sprinkled throughout the text. But this is sometimes confusing for the reader, given that Gates organized the book into four distinct sections; shouldn't these important solutions have been grouped in one place to facilitate ease of reference?

But Gates does in fact reserve section four of the book for his cornerstone idea: "Share Our Wealth", a highly controversial program of wealth redistribution (from the rich to everyone else). Understanding that this proposal will raise more than a few eyebrows, Gates includes a Question and Answer section to address objections to his plan. But while the idea may have some merit, I think that the proposal would generate such intense opposition that it might overshadow and crush the otherwise adminrable populist agenda that the author has successfully envisioned. Indeed, "Share Our Wealth" is an idea of such magnitude that it more rightly deserves a separate book to flesh out the idea more fully and provide the support it needs to make the idea defensible.

Overall, this book in my view accurately diagnoses much of what is wrong with our democracy and proposes some useful populist-flavored solutions, but unfortunately does not convincingly make the case for the "Share Our Wealth" concept. Nevertheless, "Democracy at Risk" is recommended reading for those who may be pondering how a fully-functioning democracy might be restored in this country.

Rating: 5
Summary: Democracy as if People Matter
Comment: Jeff Gates is clearly a powerful thinker and a thoughtful human being. He writes with conviction and credibility. He knows what he's talking about. He was the consummate 'insider', having spent more than a decade on Capital Hill as counsel to the Senate Finance Committee. DEMOCRACY AT RISK provides stark evidence that 'we the people' are no longer citizens who are served by the 'common good'. Instead, we are 'consumers' being herded and manipulated to serve an all powerful 'marketplace' and the small number of people who have become obscenely wealthy as a result. For example, 70% of all earnings growth in the U.S. since the 1970's has gone to less than 1% of the people. Gates says that highly concentrated wealth patterns aren't forces of nature: they're political choices. We can choose something quite different and far more inclusive - provided we're offered that choice. Gates calls for a society built on a more natural, caring form of capitalism, with broad ownership patterns. Gates argues that this 'populist' agenda is neither liberal or conservative; Democratic or Republican. It's about restoring a democracy that is badly broken. It's about removing corruption from a political system awash in influence money. He does not suggest making things right will be easy; only that it is necessary. If you want to understand the powerful, largely hidden forces shaping our society; if you want a vision for something better; if you want to be part of the solution, read this book.

Rating: 3
Summary: OF MERIT, BUT...
Comment: THIS IS A BOOK THAT MUST BE RECOMMENDED. IT MAY BE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR A BOOK OF THIS TYPE TO APPEAR IN OUR CURRENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE AS AN ANTIDOTE TO A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS COMPLACENCY AND THE TENDENCY TO ENGAGE IN BLIND, GOOD-TIMES BOOSTERISM. AS SUCH, THE IMPERATIVE TO RECOMMEND LIES IN THE VALUE OF THE DETAILED INFORMATION IT PROVIDES IN ARGUING THAT SOMETHING IS AMISS IN THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY. THIS IS ITS STRENGTH AND MERIT. IT IS THE SAME MERIT THAT DEMANDS THAT CORRECTING ANY PATHOLOGY FIRST REQUIRES RECOGNIZING THAT THERE IS A PATHOLOGY. BUT MY RECOMMENDATION COMES WITH A LARGE CAVEAT; NAMELY THAT THE PATHOLOGY LIES NOT MERELY IN THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY BUT ALSO IN THE REALM OF ECONOMIC THEORY. ONCE THIS WORK HELPS US TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM, WHAT DO WE DO TO RATIONALIZE AND JUSTIFY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A CORRECTIVE, AND WHICH CORRECTIVE? THAT YOU WILL NOT FIND HERE. FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO TAKE THE LOGICAL NEXT STEP OF MOVING ONTO TO THESE ISSUES, I WOULD MOST EMPHATICALLY RECOMMEND A TITLE FROM JUST ONE YEAR AGO THAT POWERFULLY ADDRESSES THESE CRITICAL AND FAR TOO OVERLOOKED SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS ELEVATED TO OUR ATTENTION IN DEMOCRACY AT RISK AND THAT COMPELLINGLY ARGUES THAT THE PROBLEM IS NOT MERELY IN THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY, BUT ALSO IN THE REALM OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ECONOMIC THEORY GUIDING OUR ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT POLICIES. I REFER TO THE TERRIBLY IMPORTANT WORK, BINARY ECONOMICS:THE NEW PARADIGM, BY PROFESSOR ROBERT ASHFORD AND RODNEY SHAKESPEARE. ANYONE INTERESTED IN AND CONCERNED WITH THE LEGITIMATE ISSUES RAISED IN DEMOCRACY AT RISK, WILL NOT WANT TO IGNORE THE PROFOUNDLY IMPORTANT THEORETICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL POLICY PROPOSALS FOR A SOLUTION TO THOSE PROBLEMS PROVIDED IN BINARY ECONOMICS:THE NEW PARADIGM.