Consider why we usually consider “democracy” in strictly “political” ways. Is this justified? Should we consider “democracy” (and by implication the scope of politics) to inhabit other realms other than the strictly “political”? Are the spheres of economics and culture also political (in other words, reflective of power and not simply existing immune from considerations of power and the powerful)? In your essays consider whether we should lionize democracy in the realm of economics in the same way as we do in the realm of politics. Do you detect similar arguments against economic democracy that were deployed against political democracy (e.g., the problem of expertise and efficiency)? Would such reconsiderations require a cultural shift? Moreover, critically consider the interplay of concentrations of corporate power and our liberal legal framework. Assess how liberalism, with its emphasis on rights-based individualism, might undermine community and democracy. Also, consider whether democracy is just a political process. Given we spend most of our waking hours working, can there be any viable kind of democracy without some version of workplace (or economic) democracy? What is the role of free speech in all of this? How does it contribute to democratic deliberation? Given most of the media are nothing but corporate conglomerates, should the media be reformed (democratically)for the sake of democracy? How? Is there a new angle from which we can appreciate the problems of American democracy, or democracy in general, in this post-Trump era? Be sure to explain the intersections of economic and political democracy (in other words, whether one is important to the other) and their relation to the state of . democracy. In your answer, be sure to refer to the readings we reviewed in class. Refer especially to Anderson, Hahnel, and Albert (though you are encouraged to seek out secondary sources as well as incorporate our readings from the first half of the semester). In other words, quote the texts we’ve studied directly in support of your analysis. The books I require to be used for references, quotations, and analysis are the following and will be provided to you (Please quote directly from the provided material with exact page number annotated next to each quote): Elizabeth Anderson, Private Government ISBN# 978-0-691-17651-2 Robin Hahnel, Of The People, By The People ISBN# 978-0-9830597-6-9 Michael Albert, Parecon ISBN# 978-1-84467-505-0 Jean Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract ISBN# 9780312694463 John Stuart Mill, On Liberty and other Essays ISBN# 978-0-19-953573-6
