The idea that the people have a right to shape political decisions
through democratic means is widely accepted. The same cannot be said of
the decisions that impact on our everyday economic life in the workplace
and beyond.
Andrew Cumbers shows why this is wrong, and why, in the context of the
rising tide of populism and the perceived crisis of liberal democracy,
economic democracy's time has come. Four decades of market deregulation,
financialisation, economic crisis and austerity has meant a loss of
economic control and security for the majority of the world's
population. The solution must involve allowing people to 'take back
control' of their economic lives. Cumbers goes beyond older traditions
of economic democracy to develop an ambitious new framework that
includes a traditional concern with workplace rights and collective
bargaining, but shifts the focus to include consideration of individual
economic rights and processes of public engagement and deliberation
beyond the workplace.
This topical and original book will be essential reading for anyone
interested in radical solutions for our economic and political crises.