Jennifer Cyd Rubenstein
Department of Politics
University of Virginia
Co-sponsored with Trudeau Centre
Abstract:
What is the relationship between money and democratic politics? One prominent view is that money corrupts democratic politics. “Get money out of politics!” is a common— and understandable— refrain. Anyone who cares about political equality is rightly troubled when only wealthy individuals are able to win elected office and when individuals and corporations can “buy” influence by making campaign contributions. However, a conception of money as an external substance that taints democratic politics obscures as much as it illuminates. It blinds us to the negative political effects of money not captured by the imagery of illegitimate incursion. It also conceals various ways in which activities involving money can promote and enact democratic values of inclusion, equality, and non-paternalism. Instead of conceptualizing money as (only) a foreign substance in politics we ought to also view money as a currency of politics. Drawing on thinkers ranging from Rousseau and Michael Walzer to Audre Lorde and Viviana Zelizer, and examples including cash transfer programs in Kenya and the Abolitionist movement in the US, the aim of this talk is to bring the diverse political functions of money into view in a way that is helpful in both broad theoretical terms and for responding to our current political moment.
Mon, Feb 13, 2017
04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Room 200, Larkin Building
15 Devonshire Place