Democracy At Risk: Rescuing Main Street From Wall Street - Hardcover

Gates, Jeff

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738203262 ISBN 13: 9780738203263

Publisher: Basic Books, 2000

Synopsis

From the leading voice in the "shared capitalism" movement comes a manifesto for spreading wealth and creating a truly democratic society

The year 2000 is the first election year of the twenty- first century. For attorney-activist Jeff Gates, it represents the ideal occasion to own up to the failings of our political system and to pursue a more inclusive national agenda that corrects what he shows are severe threats to democracy, free enterprise and the environment. Citing alarming statistics, Gates convincingly argues that the current boom is largely a mirage, buoyed by policies that continue to reward the wealthy and punish the poor. With equal measures of passion and incisive reasoning drawn from a career in national politics and corporate finance, he proposes an ambitious yet practical program of financial, political, and economic reform. Democracy at Risk is a call-to-arms for any aspiring leader or concerned citizen who wants to create and participate in a better future.

About this title

About the Author

Jeff Gates, President of the Shared Capitalism Institute and a pioneer of federal ESOP legislation, is a lawyer, investment banker, political advisor, and consultant to government, corporate, and union leaders worldwide. He lives in Atlanta.

Reviews

Gates is enthusiastic about both capitalism and democracyAbut he's a little concerned that one (capitalism) is advancing at the expense of the other, and that today's profit-or-perish economy endangers the viability of community. "My goal," he writes, "is to smarten up free enterprise." So, in this well-meaning populist primer, GatesAformer counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on FinanceAmaps out a plan for a more "democratic capitalism" that would make the world safe from the ravages of global financial markets that benefit the few at the expense of the many. Among other things, he proposes a "freeloader's levy" that would take money from the $8 trillion now stashed in the world's tax havens and redistribute it to humanitarian projects in the developing world, and he imagines a scheme for reinvesting retirement assets to assist self-reliant pensioners. Most compellingly, he proposes a series of strategies (based in part on his 1998 book The Ownership Solution) for "peoplizing ownership"Aexpanding the edges of corporations through various customer, employee and citizen stock-ownership plans. Gates is at his best when analyzing specific tactics to back up his rhetorical salvos. But a number of his critiques lose their focus as he barrels pell-mell through an onslaught of subject matterAforeign relations, monetary policy, bioterrorism, Gandhi, perceived misdeeds of Wal-Mart, and cybernetics. Still, even if the answers Gates turns up don't always hit the mark, at least he's raising an important set of questions. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gates is an investment banker, lawyer, and advocate of "shared capitalism." As chief counsel for the Senate Finance Committee in the 1980s, he lobbied extensively for Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), the focus of his first book, The Ownership Solution (LJ 4/15/98). Here, he unleashes a political-economic manifesto for the new century. Building on his earlier arguments for the need to share wealth and connect more people to the economy, Gates examines the deficiencies of American democracy. He proposes an educational campaign for community leadership along populist lines that would transcend partisan politics. His idea of "democratic capitalism" combines elements of political theory with economic innovation, with an eye on the global community. Gates also calls for new and more effective political leadership and addresses a series of "common questions" raised by skeptics. This persuasive and well-documented work will generate thoughtful discussion. Recommended for public and academic libraries.DThomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738203262
• ISBN 13: 9780738203263
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400