Capitalism, Democracy, and Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery
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A01=John Mueller
Anti-capitalism
Author_John Mueller
Average Joe
Behavioral economics
Better Business Bureau
Betterment
Big government
Bureaucrat
Business ethics
Campaign finance reform in the United States
Capitalism
Category=JPF
Category=KCS
Civility
Commodity
Common good
Common ownership
Comparative advantage
Competitive advantage
Consent of the governed
Convenience
Corn flakes
Credit union
Customer
Cynicism (contemporary)
Demagogue
Democracy
Democracy in America
Democratic consolidation
Democratic ideals
Developed country
Developing country
Divine right of kings
Economic cost
Economic development
Economic growth
Economic planning
Economics
Economy
Elite
Employee morale
Employment
Entrepreneurship
eq_bestseller
eq_business-finance-law
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Equal opportunity
Fraud
Free trade
Frugality
Generosity
Golden handshake
Good government
Gullibility
Have a nice day
Hedonic treadmill
Homer Lea
Imperialism
Just price
Karl Marx
Liberal democracy
Liberalism
Liberalization
Longevity
Low-information rationality
Loyalty
Military dictatorship
Moderate Party
Nationalization
Negative campaigning
North American Free Trade Agreement
Nouveau riche
Open society
Petty tyranny
Philanthropy
Political correctness
Political freedom
Politician
Popular sovereignty
Price gouging
Principles (retailer)
Profit maximization
Self-interest
Self-sufficiency
Sentimentality
Shyster
Small business
Subsidy
Tax
Tax Cheat
Tax collector
Tax evasion
The European Miracle
Wealth
Welfare
World peace
Product details
- ISBN 9780691090825
- Weight: 482g
- Dimensions: 152 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 19 Aug 2001
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Democracy is overrated. Capitalism, on the other hand, doesn't get enough credit. In this provocative and engaging book, John Mueller argues that these mismatches between image and reality create significant political and economic problems--inspiring instability, inefficiency, and widespread cynicism. We would be far better off, he writes, if we recognized that neither system is ideal or disastrous and accepted instead the humdrum truth that both are "pretty good." And, to Mueller, that means good enough. He declares that what is true of Garrison Keillor's fictional store "Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery" is also true of democracy and capitalism: if you can't get what you want there, "you can probably get along without it." Mueller begins by noting that capitalism is commonly thought to celebrate greed and to require discourtesy, deceit, and callousness. However, with examples that range from car dealerships and corporate boardrooms to the shop of an eighteenth-century silk merchant, Mueller shows that capitalism in fact tends to reward behavior that is honest, fair, civil, and compassionate.
He argues that this gap between image and reality hampers economic development by encouraging people to behave dishonestly, unfairly, and discourteously to try to get ahead and to neglect the virtuous behavior that is an important source of efficiency and gain. The problem with democracy's image, by contrast, is that our expectations are too high. We are too often led by theorists, reformers, and romantics to believe that democracy should consist of egalitarianism and avid civic participation. In fact, democracy will always be chaotic, unequal, and marked by apathy. It offers reasonable freedom and security, but not political paradise. To idealize democracy, Mueller writes, is to undermine it, since the inevitable contrast with reality creates public cynicism and can hamper democracy's growth and development. Mueller presents these arguments with sophistication, wit, and erudition. He combines mastery of current political and economic literature with references to figures ranging from Plato to P. T. Barnum, from Immanuel Kant to Ronald Reagan, from Shakespeare to Frank Capra.
Broad in scope and rich in detail, the book will provoke debate among economists, political scientists, and anyone interested in the problems (or non-problems) of modern democracy and capitalism.
John Mueller is Professor of Political Science at the University of Rochester. His previous books include War, Presidents, and Public Opinion, Retreat from Doomsday: The Obsolescence of Major War, and Quiet Cataclysm: Reflections on the Recent Transformation of World Politics. He is a regular contributor to numerous academic journals and has written editorial page columns in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times. Outside the field of political science, Mueller has written the prize-winning Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films (Knopf) and cowritten A Foggy Day, a musical presented at the Shaw Festival in Ontario.
