Democracy is overrated. Capitalism, on the other hand, doesn't
get enough credit. In this provocative and engaging book, John
Mueller argues that these mismatches between image and reality
create significant political and economic problems--inspiring
instability, inefficiency, and widespread cynicism. We would be far
better off, he writes, if we recognized that neither system is
ideal or disastrous and accepted instead the humdrum truth that
both are "pretty good." And, to Mueller, that means good enough. He
declares that what is true of Garrison Keillor's fictional store
"Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery" is also true of democracy and
capitalism: if you can't get what you want there, "you can probably
get along without it."
Mueller begins by noting that capitalism is commonly thought to
celebrate greed and to require discourtesy, deceit, and
callousness. However, with examples that range from car dealerships
and corporate boardrooms to the shop of an eighteenth-century silk
merchant, Mueller shows that capitalism in fact tends to reward
behavior that is honest, fair, civil, and compassionate. He argues
that this gap between image and reality hampers economic
development by encouraging people to behave dishonestly, unfairly,
and discourteously to try to get ahead and to neglect the virtuous
behavior that is an important source of efficiency and gain.
The problem with democracy's image, by contrast, is that our
expectations are too high. We are too often led by theorists,
reformers, and romantics to believe that democracy should consist
of egalitarianism and avid civic participation. In fact, democracy
will always be chaotic, unequal, and marked by apathy. It offers
reasonable freedom and security, but not political paradise. To
idealize democracy, Mueller writes, is to undermine it, since the
inevitable contrast with reality creates public cynicism and can
hamper democracy's growth and development.
Mueller presents these arguments with sophistication, wit, and
erudition. He combines mastery of current political and economic
literature with references to figures ranging from Plato to P. T.
Barnum, from Immanuel Kant to Ronald Reagan, from Shakespeare to
Frank Capra. Broad in scope and rich in detail, the book will
provoke debate among economists, political scientists, and anyone
interested in the problems (or non-problems) of modern democracy
and capitalism.
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