"Post-Democracy" is a polemical work that goes beyond the usual complaints about the deficits of our democracy and explores the deeper social and economic forces that explain contemporary discontent.
Colin Crouch argues that the decline of social classes, which made active and critical mass politics possible, combined with the rise of global capitalism, has resulted in a self-referential political class more concerned with developing ties with wealthy business interests than with implementing policy programs that address the concerns of ordinary people. He shows that at the dawn of the twenty-first century, our politics are reverting, in some respects, to the world we knew long before the early twentieth century, when politics was a power game between oligarchic groups. Crouch, however, claims that the experience of the twentieth century remains on the surface and reminds us of the possibilities that exist for revitalizing politics.
This fascinating book will challenge all those who claim that previous societies have managed to achieve the best possible world of democracy, and it will be essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the shape of politics in the twenty-first century.