Democracy Distorted: Wealth, Influence and Democratic Politics

by Jacob Rowbottom

• ISBN13: 9780521700177
• ISBN10: 0521700175
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-07
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

High-profile controversies surrounding the funding of political parties have shown how inequalities in wealth can enter the political process. The growth of the professional lobbying of MPs and the executive raises similar questions about money in politics. More broadly, inequalities emerge in the opportunities for the public to participate in political debate. This analysis of the ways wealth can be used to influence politics in Britain explores the threat posed to the principle of political equality. As well as examining lobbying and party funding, the discussion focuses on the ownership and control of the media, the chance to be heard on the internet and the impact of the privatisation of public spaces on rights to assemble and protest. Looking at this range of political activities, the author proposes various strategies designed to protect the integrity of British democracy and stop inequalities in wealth becoming inequalities in politics. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Jacob Rowbottom is a lecturer in Law at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Preface and acknowledgements	p. ix
Political equality, wealth and democracy	p. 1
Wealth and democratic politics	p. 2
Political equality	p. 7
Democratic models and political equality	p. 13
Stages of the democratic process	p. 21
Wealth as a source of influence	p. 24
Egalitarian politics and policies	p. 30
Conclusion	p. 31
Freedom to speak and freedom to spend	p. 33
Engaging freedom of expression	p. 36
Positive obligations	p. 37
Justifications for freedom of expression	p. 39
The speaker's interest	p. 41
Collective justifications for expression rights	p. 44
Quantity, scarcity and competitive advantages	p. 52
Listener autonomy	p. 57
Electoral and political expression	p. 59
Conclusion	p. 61
Strategies and reforms	p. 62
The risks of state intervention	p. 62
Insulating the democratic processes	p. 66
Conclusion	p. 76
Access, influence and lobbying	p. 78
Cash for favours, access and corruption	p. 80
Lobbying	p. 87
Lobbyists, Parliament and the executive	p. 94
A participatory process	p. 102
Strengthening transparency	p. 104
Conclusion	p. 110
Beyond equal votes: election campaigns and political parties	p. 112
Background	p. 113
Spending limits	p. 117
Political donations	p. 121
State funding	p. 128
Making subsidies responsive	p. 131
Responsiveness and other democratic goals	p. 135
Institutional donations	p. 136
Conclusion	p. 141
Public spaces, property and participation	p. 143
Public spaces and a shrinking subsidy	p. 144
Access to state-owned property	p. 147
Private management of publicly owned spaces	p. 151
Public spaces and private land	p. 154
Rights of access	p. 157
The rights of the owner	p. 164
Conclusion	p. 169
The mass media: democratic dreams and private propagandists	p. 171
The mass media and democracy	p. 173
Inequalities in wealth and the mass media	p. 177
Media ownership and concentration	p. 186
Safeguarding editorial and journalistic autonomy	p. 194
Subsidies	p. 196
Rights of access	p. 201
Impartiality	p. 208
Media sectors and freedom of expression	p. 210
Conclusion	p. 214
Participation in the digital era: a new distribution?	p. 216
Lobbying	p. 217
Party funding	p. 219
Political debate in the new media	p. 222
Possible solutions	p. 240
Conclusion	p. 243
Conclusion	p. 245
Index	p. 249
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.