Could Well-Functioning Markets Kill Democracy?

What if Keynes vs. Hayek misses the point and Occupy gets the point -- inequality -- but over-simplifies the story?  Social theorists, activists, and others might find this opinion piece interesting.

New York Times, February 19, 2012, 9:00 PM
Is This the End of Market Democracy?
By THOMAS B. EDSALL


The 2012 election will offer voters a stark choice between right and left alternatives.

President Obama is calling for:

investing in things like education that gives everybody a chance to succeed. A tax code that makes sure everybody pays their fair share. And laws that make sure everybody follows the rules. That’s what will transform our economy. That’s what will grow our middle class again.

Republicans, in turn, are denouncing the expansion of a Democratic “entitlement society” and what they see as a trend toward European social democracy. They are calling for sharply reduced taxes, regulation and government spending to free market forces and revive private sector economic growth.

While Americans are going to be able to choose between two contrasting ideologies, what if both choices are off the mark? What if the legitimacy of free market capitalism in America is facing fundamental challenges that the candidates and their parties are not addressing?
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