Rethinking Democratic Theories of Justice in the Economy after COVID-19
in Democratic TheoryAll currencies in US Dollar
Abstract
This article argues that the COVID-19 crisis has brought to light the importance of state democratic capacities linked with humanist governance. This requires securing individuals’ silent freedoms as embedded in the way “developmental” institutions that constitute social relations and well-being are governed. I argue health and well-being inequalities brought out by the crisis are but a manifestation of the way, in the context of the competition paradigm in global governance, states have become relatedly more punitive and dis-embedded from society. The answer lies in providing a more explicit defence of the features of a human development democratic state. An implication is to move democratic theory beyond the concern with redistributive and participatory features of democracy to consider foundational institutional properties of democratic deepening and freedom in society.
Contributor Notes
Louise Haagh is Professor of Politics at the University of York, having obtained her D.Phil and held a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Oxford. She is Chair of the Basic Income Earth Network and Patron of the UK Citizens Basic Income Trust. Having advised several global organizations, she currently services an expert to the World Health Organization. E-mail: louise.haagh@york.ac.uk