We are on the way to post-democracy – but where are we today? This article discusses the post-democracy thesis against the background of recent social problems such as the Corona pandemic, the rise of right-wing populism and the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. On the one hand, these problems indicate that Western democracies have taken a further step towards post-democracy. On the other hand, democratic potentials, such as a strengthening civil society and supranational democratic institutions, were also revealed in (...) dealing with these problems. The article argues that in order to counteract post-democratic tendencies, both formal and informal democratic elements need to be strengthened and that it is more necessary than ever to build “bridges” between the two. (shrink)

« La démocratie est de plus en plus une coquille vide. » Partant du malaise profond et de la violente crise de confiance que les peuples des démocraties modernes traversent vis-à-vis des institutions étatiques, Crouch avance que ces Etats sont entrés dans une phase « post-démocratique ». Explorant les forces sociales et économiques qui y sont à l'œuvre, il décortique les liens unissant aujourd'hui les conglomérats aux gouvernements et la perte de légitimité de ces derniers. Concis et subtilement argumenté, cet (...) essai offre une réponse cinglante aux chantres du néolibéralisme pour qui les sociétés dites avancées ont atteint le degré de démocratie le plus élevé possible ; et propose des pistes concrètes afin de redonner aux citoyens une réelle marge d’action. (shrink)

Crouch's provocative argument in Post-Democracy has in many ways been vindicated by recent events, but these have also highlighted some weaknesses of the original thesis and shown that the situation today is even worse.

Ralph Dahrendorf survived incarceration in a German concentration camp in 1944. He later took degrees in sociology at Hamburg University and the London School of Economics and spent some time as one of Germany's European Commissioners, although he was critical of aspects of the bureaucracy. Dahrendorf was Director of the London School of Economics for ten years and gave the Reith Lectures in 1974. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1977, knighted in 1982 and became Member (...) of the House of Lords in 1993. Dahrendorf retired to Germany. Obituary by Colin Crouch FBA. (shrink)

Paradoxically, the rise of neoliberal economic thinking and its rejection of concepts of both state intervention in the economy and the pursuit of purposes bybusiness that are not directly related to profit maximization, has been accompanied by intensified social criticism of business and concerns about sustainability. The article explores the implications of these paradoxes and relates them to active consumerism and to the issue of market externalities.