Capitalism without democracy
Book presentation
Quinn Slobodian presents his new book “Capitalism without Democracy” (lecture in English)
About the book: According to investor Peter Thiel in 2009, freedom and democracy are no longer compatible. Those who love freedom must therefore try to escape politics in all its forms. Libertarians could seek refuge in cyberspace, in outer space and on the open sea. This may sound blown away, but it is part of a decades-old tradition of radical market ideas: Thinkers such as Milton Friedman were enthusiastic about Hong Kong, which was still under British suzerainty; Margaret Thatcher dreamed of a Singapore on the Thames.
In Globalists, Quinn Slobodian dealt with attempts to remove economic issues from democratic decision-making, for example by transferring them to international organizations. Capitalism without Democracy is now about a different solution to the problem Thiel deplores: breaking up the world into tax havens, private cities or micronations. Slobodian takes us on a fascinating journey through the world of neoliberal utopias. It takes us to Dubai and Liechtenstein, to civil war-torn Somalia and to Elon Musk’s spaceport in Texas. And it broadens our view of a possible future that should worry us.
Further information about the book: Here…
Organizer:
An event of the Heisenberg Professorship for Political Science with a focus on Political Theory, History of Ideas and Theories of Economics in cooperation with the research initiative “ConTrust – Trust in Conflict” at the Research Center “Normative Orders”
