#818 Tibor Rutar: The Rise, Benefits, and Challenges of Liberal Democracies
Dr. Tibor Rutar is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Maribor, Slovenia, Researcher at the Center for the Study of Post-Socialist Societies in Maribor, and Researcher at the Research Center for Strategy and Governance at the University of Ljubljana. His last two books are Rational Choice and Democratic Government: A Sociological Approach (Routledge, 2021) and Capitalism for Realists: Virtues and Vices of the Modern Economy (Routledge, 2022).
This is our second talk. You can watch the first one here: https://youtu.be/b5-tB-SrHyI
This time, we focus on Rational Choice and Democratic Government. We talk about how old democracies are. We define liberal democracy, and talk about political and civil rights. We discuss the rise of democracies, the recent “democratic recession”, and the 2008 economic crisis. We discuss how levels of democracy are evaluated. We get into rational choice theory, self-interest, and incentives. We discuss explanations for the rise and spread of democracy. We talk about voting behavior, and discuss how much we should worry about average voters being uninformed. We discuss how both market failure and government failure occur. We talk about where public choice analyses fail. We discuss if democracy contributes to peace. Finally, we discuss if Francis Fukuyama was right, and if we should expect liberal-democratic capitalist societies to be more successful than authoritarian state-capitalist societies.
Time Links:
Intro
How old are democracies?
Liberal democracy, and political and civil rights
The rise of democracies, the recent “democratic recession”, and the 2008 economic crisis
How levels of democracy are evaluated
Is liberal democracy a stable system?
Rational choice theory, self-interest, and incentives
Explaining for the rise and spread of democracy
Is the average voter well-informed? Do they need to be? And what do voters get right?
How market failure occurs
How government failure occurs
Where public choice analyses fail
Does democracy contribute to peace?
Was Francis Fukuyama right?
Will liberal-democratic capitalist societies be more successful than authoritarian state-capitalist societies?
Follow Dr. Rutar’s work!
Follow Dr. Rutar’s work:
University page (Ljubljana): http://bit.ly/3J5XZj6
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/3Wthd52
Books on Amazon: https://bit.ly/3R0kAzA