Theories of Liberal Capitalist Democracy: Alternative Perspectives

Abstract

This article examines relationships between capitalism and democracy as perceived by contending perspectives within the liberal capitalist‐liberal democratic tradition(s). Bentham and the Mills are taken as initiating both this tradition and the core elements of the debate within it. Pre‐Benthamite theories are first reviewed. Then, after discussion of Bentham and James Mill and of John Stuart Mill, Mill's late nineteenth and early twentieth century successors are examined. We then go on to consider hypotheses concerning the “exceptional” quality of relationships between capitalism and democracy in the United States. The penultimate section of the article adumbrates the main contours of mid‐twentieth century pluralist‐elitist theories. We conclude with a summary.

Citation

Elliott, J.E. and Scott, J.V. (1987), "Theories of Liberal Capitalist Democracy: Alternative Perspectives", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 14 No. 7/8/9, pp. 52-87. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb014071