Democracy: Maybe Less Is More

2021 ◽  
pp. 68-93
Author(s):  
Jason Brennan
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Trade Policy ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Central Banking ◽  
District Attorney ◽  
Decision Rights ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Less Is More ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic System

In any functional democratic system, some decisions are left to experts (who may be overseen indirectly by the people), while others are directly in the hands of the people. How to allocate these decision rights is a persistent problem in democratic theory. This chapter argues that competence is a crucial criterion in deciding the question of who decides. Further, part of the solution to the persistent pathologies of democracy is to reduce the sphere of politics and also the sphere of political control. Certain issues, such as trade policy, immigration policy, central banking interest rates, who serves as district attorney or judge, and various kinds of regulation, should be kept out of democracy’s hands—for everybody’s own good.

scholarly journals The kiss of death. Public service media under right-wing populist attack

2021 ◽  
pp. 026732312199133
Author(s):  
Christina Holtz-Bacha
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Democratic Accountability ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic Control ◽  
The Media ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Public Scrutiny

With the surge of populism in Europe, public service broadcasting has come under increased pressure. The established media are considered part of the corrupt elite not serving the interests of the people. The public service media, for which pluralism is at the core of their remit, are a particular thorn in the side of the populists. Therefore, they attack the financial basis of public service, which is supposed to guarantee their independence. The populist attacks on the traditional broadcasting corporations meet with the interests of neoliberal politics and of those political actors who want to evade public scrutiny and democratic control and do no longer feel committed to democratic accountability. The assaults on the public service media are thus an assault on freedom of the media and further increase the pressure on the democratic system.

scholarly journals PEACEFUL CAMPAIGN IN ELECTION AL-HUJURAT VERSE 11 PERSPECTIVE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doli Witro
Keyword(s):  
Hate Speech ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
The Many ◽  
National Police

Democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. The popularity of the democratic system is arguably at its peak. This is proven by the many uses of the democratic system in modern countries in the world. Indonesia as a country that runs a democratic system does not give authority to the authorities to monopolize votes in an election. Because security and freedom for every citizen, free to choose as a representation of the sovereignty of the people. But on the side that democracy often happens is seen as freedom so that there are some elements mixing elements in democracy that actually damage democracy itself. Call it when campaigning for a candidate to hate speech, insult, and berate other candidates so that damage the good name in the eyes of the community. As reported in Detik.com in 2016, the National Police stated that there were 2,018 cases of hate speech that occurred. Then it increased by 44.99% in 2017 to 3,325 cases. Furthermore, in 2018 reported in January 2019 there were 3,884 cases of hate speech that occurred. This proves that in campaigning the candidates cannot be said to campaign peacefully, fairly and competitively. Whereas Allah s.w.t. It has been said in Surah al-Hujurat verse 11. Based on the description above the writer is interested in discussing and studying more about the campaign in the Elections in Indonesia and campaigning peacefully perspective of Surah al-Hujurat verse 11. This is important to discuss given the rampant hate speech cases that conducted by candidates in campaigning. This study aims to contribute knowledge to the candidates so that in campaigning, they do not utter hate speech, insult, and berate other candidates.

scholarly journals THE INFLATION AND POVERTY IN INDONESIA: CONSEQUENCE OF USURY?

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Azwar Iskandar ◽  
Bayu Taufiq Possumah ◽  
Khaerul Aqbar
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Interest Rate Policy ◽  
Depth Index ◽  
The People

This research was conducted to analyze the influence and correlation of interest rates as one form of the implementation of usury practices on inflation and poverty in Indonesia. This study uses secondary data from the publication of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) and Bank Indonesia for the period 2005-2018. This study uses Simple Linear Regression Analysis Techniques and Pearson Correlation Techniques. The results showed that interest rates as one form of the implementation of usury practices had an effect and had a positive and significant correlation to inflation in Indonesia. The practice of ribawi actually will bring a negative impact on the economy of the people in Indonesia in the form of an increase in the level of inflation in society. Measures of monetary policy intervention in maintaining price stability and inflation in society have not shown a positive impact. Also, the results of the study showed that interest rate policy also had a positive influence and correlation on the increase in the poverty depth index. That is, when interest rates are set to rise, the poverty depth index in the community also tends to go up or get worse. The findings of this study reinforce the legitimacy of the word of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in the Qur'an and the Hadith related to the prohibition of usury practices that can lead to injustice, wrongdoing, and economic destruction of the people.

SOUTH AFRICA 2016 – A COMING OF AGE: THEOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE FUTURE OF SOUTH AFRICA

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N Barney Pityana
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Herbert Marcuse ◽  
False Consciousness ◽  
Democratic Accountability ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Ethical Reflections ◽  
And Behavior

This essay marks the maturing of South Africa's democracy since it was established in 1994. It raises questions as to whether the democratic dispensation has fulfilled what it promised, and it examines the reasons thereof. In essence it reasons that democracy has failed the people of South Africa because it lacks democratic accountability, and a firm foundation on the expressed will of the people. The theological and ethical factors in addressing the failings of a democratic system come into view. The essay concludes with an affirmation of the essential character of the church in promoting and defending justice in the world. One-dimensional thought is systematically promoted by the makers of politics and the purveyors of mass information. Their universe of discourse is populated by self-validating hypotheses which necessarily and mono-politically repeated, become hypnotic definitions and dictations... The products indoctrinate and manipulat; they promote a false consciousness that is immune against falsehood… This emerges a pattern of one-dimensional thought and behavior… Herbert Marcuse: One-Dimensional Man (1964)

Monetary Policy and the Future of Central Banking

2021 ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Mitsuhiro Furusawa
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Policy ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Commodity Prices ◽  
Central Banking ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Advanced Economies ◽  
Policy Frameworks ◽  
Forward Looking

The chapter highlights the state of monetary policy in Africa and explores the challenges that central banks face as they address the increasingly complex forces at work in the global economy. It sequences the evolution of monetary policy from the time of World War II under the Bretton Woods system to the more recent forward-looking monetary policy in advanced economies and relates it to influencing the evolution of monetary policy frameworks in Africa. Some challenges affecting African countries are identified, including the collapse of commodity prices, persistent high interest rates spreads, and limitations of high frequency data that constrain monetary authorities’ abilities to take corrective actions in a timely manner. The chapter concludes by providing seven principles towards increasing the effectiveness of monetary policy for countries seeking to move towards forward-looking monetary policy frameworks.

Constitutionalism, Liberalism, and Democracy

2021 ◽  
pp. 35-53
Author(s):  
Andrei Marmor
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Liberal Politics ◽  
Similar Tendency ◽  
External Threats ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Constitutional Judicial Review

This chapter describes the tension between democratic decision-making procedures and constitutional judicial review. It shows that the liberal values that justify a democratic self-government may also vindicate some limits on majoritarian decision-making procedures, but not necessarily in the form of the current constitutional regimes. The chapter argues that constitutional courts are not a necessary feature of a liberal regime. It also acknowledges that democratic decision-making has many defects. These defects concern the fate of persistent vulnerable minorities, the tendency towards short-sightedness, a similar tendency to downplay people's rights and liberties for the sake of greater economic gains or in the force of external threats, and finally the dangers of populism and anti-liberal politics gaining ground within a democratic system. The chapter then depicts courts as essentially conservative institutions which are not — and cannot be — as counter-majoritarian as depicted by legal scholars, mainly because their legitimacy and the acceptance of their decisions depends on the people. It contends that the acceptance and efficacy of judicial review is context dependent, but that some fights still need to be fought in the political, not the legal arena.

Fifteen Years of Central Banking in Honduras

1967 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 488-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. LaBarge ◽  
Frank Falero
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Central Bank ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Central Banking ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
World War ◽  
Monetary Policies ◽  
The Public ◽  
History Of ◽  
Commercial Paper

The purpose of this paper is to draw together from primary sources the case history of formative policy years for the Central Bank of Honduras. This bank, like others formed throughout the underdeveloped world in the post-World War II era, was created in 1950 as a vehicle for stimulating economic growth. In retrospect over 186 months of operations this particular Central Bank has an unusually outstanding policy record—a record which argues forcefully for appropriate monetary policy as a stimulant to economic advance.The first meeting of Central Bank directors was held on May 31, 1950, for the purpose of establishing the major monetary policies under which the Bank would commence operations July 1. At that meeting the directors established a schedule of maximum interest rates to be charged by the public commercial banks and a schedule of rates at which eligible commercial paper of 12 months maturity or less could be rediscounted with the Central Bank.

The Theory of the State as a Sovereign Juristic Person

1948 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth C. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Political History ◽  
Public Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Popular Sovereignty ◽  
General Conception ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Constitutional Morality

The casual student of Western political history encounters sovereignty in a number of guises. In the stage of absolute monarchy, it was a personal endowment of princes; in the stage of democracy, it seems to be a collective endowment of the “nation” or the “people.” In the latter period, moreover, a definition of law as the command of a sovereign becomes increasingly popular.These various contexts for sovereignty will already have suggested the protean possibilities of the general conception, but the student will have had little difficulty in sensing its generally anti-constitutional influence. Even popular sovereignty, which sounds the least dangerous, has had to be offset by opposing institutions in accounting for the relatively high constitutional morality of the democratic system.While, therefore, it is not surprising to find sovereignty again (and in a still different guise) when we examine the leading conceptions of American public law, one well may marvel to find it accorded a key position among them. For, strange to say, the sovereignty of the state is widely accepted as the cornerstone of a legal edifice which the lawyers themselves appear to have laid.

Bank competition and interest rate pass-through in the BRICS

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Fadiran
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Interest Rate ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Central Banking ◽  
Deposit Rate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reaction Theory ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
Customer Reaction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare the interest rate pass-through among the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) emerging markets. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews a general literature on interest rates pass-through by applying a cointegration and asymmetric mean adjustment lag (MAL) error correction methodology (ECM). Findings – A symmetric adjustment is found in Russia, China and South Africa's deposit rate, while an asymmetric adjustment is found in Brazil and India's deposit rate adjustments. The presence of a customer reaction theory is found in Brazil, India, China and South Africa's deposit rate adjustments, while a collusive pricing arrangement is found in Russia. From the lending rate adjustment, a collusive pricing arrangement was found in Brazil, China and South Africa, while a customer reaction theory was found in India and Russia. Research limitations/implications – The sample period used in the study covers a period starting from the formal recognition of BRIC (2001-2010), which limits the data length. Practical implications – The research output and implication can assist monetary policy makers, investors and consumers to monitor BRICS’ central banking, commercial banking and competition behaviour, individually and as a group. The BRICS are potentially heading towards a more financially integrated bloc as multilateral agreements among members increases. This is in the form of Letters of Credit and Memorandum of Understanding. These agreements should boost intra-BRICS financial transactions, investments and trade. Originality/value – This is, to the best of knowledge, the first analysis of BRICS interest rate pass-through using the asymmetric MAL ECM application.

New Ukrainian cabinet raises fears of slowing reform

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Central Bank ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The People ◽  
Obvious Reason ◽  
The Government

Subject Ukraine's reshuffle. Significance A new cabinet was unveiled on March 4 after the resignation of Prime Minister Olexiy Honcharuk. The reshuffle was carried out in a hurry with no obvious reason for such haste. Honcharuk's team is being blamed for some problems that long pre-date its five-month tenure. President Volodymyr Zelensky may be seeking to shore up his formerly sky-high popularity ratings, which fell below 50% in early February. Impacts The dismissal of Prosecutor General Ruslan Ryaboshabka will add to concerns about the commitment to fight corruption. The government reshuffle has more implications for the economy than for the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky has tried to get a land reform passed; he may be less keen if it is liable to reduce his popularity. The reshuffle may be a sacrifice made to maintain disparate loyalties in Zelensky's Servant of the People party. A further fall in inflation would let the central bank keep cutting interest rates.

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