Property-owning democracy as an alternative to capitalism
| Published date | 01 October 2020 |
| Date | 01 October 2020 |
| Author | Paul Raekstad |
| DOI | 10.1177/1474885117725900 |
| Subject Matter | Review Articles |
EJPT
Review Article
Property-owning democracy
as an alternative to
capitalism
Paul Raekstad
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Alan Thomas, A Republic of Equals: Predistribution and Property
Owning Democracy, Oxford University Press; Oxford, 2017; 472pp.
ISBN: 9780190602116. £91 (hbk).
Abstract
Alan Thomas’ Republic of Equals: Predistribution and Property-Owning Democracy sets itself
the ambitious task of synthesising neo-republican political theor y and Rawlsian justice as
fairness. It is an important and challenging work that will set the stage for a great deal of
the discussion not only on justice and republicanism, but also on property-owning dem-
ocracy, market socialism and broader discussions of alternative economic institutions to
come. After reconstructing the argument of the book, this review article turns to some
specific points it raises that warrant further discussion. More precisely, it examines
Thomas’ critique of market socialism, arguing that it fails to do what it sets out to do:
show that market socialism is incompatible with justice as fairness. Having discussed and
rejected his critique of the main other model that Thomas considers, I then turn to
questions of the feasibility of POD as a feasible alternative to familiar forms of capitalism.
Keywords
Economic democracy, exploitation, John Rawls, justice, justice as fairness, market social-
ism, Participatory Economics, Property-Owning Democracy, republican freedom,
republican liberty
Introduction
Alan Thomas’ (Thomas, 2017) most recent book, Republic of Equals: Predistribution
and Property-Owning Democracy, sets itself the ambitious task of synthesising the
political liberalism of Rawlsian justice as fairness with the Roman republicanism of
European Journal of Political Theory
2020, Vol. 19(4) 614–622
!The Author(s) 2017
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/1474885117725900
journals.sagepub.com/home/ept
Corresponding author:
Paul Raekstad, Faculteit der Maatschappij- en Gedragswetenschappen, Universiteit van Amsterdam,
Department of Political Science/Roeterseiland, Postbus 15578, Amsterdam, 1001 NB, Netherlands.
Email: paul.raekstad@cantab.net
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