Democracy Distorted: Wealth, Influence and Democratic Politics (Law in Context)

Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 5
Title......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
Contents......Page 9
Preface and acknowledgements......Page 11
1 Political equality, wealth and democracy......Page 13
Wealth and democratic politics......Page 14
Political equality......Page 19
Elite competitive democracy......Page 25
Aggregating preferences......Page 26
Deliberative democracy......Page 29
Equality at the voting stage......Page 33
Agenda-setting......Page 34
Wealth as a source of influence......Page 36
Egalitarian politics and policies......Page 42
Conclusion......Page 43
2 Freedom to speak and freedom to spend......Page 45
Engaging freedom of expression......Page 48
Positive obligations......Page 49
Justifications for freedom of expression......Page 51
The speaker’s interest......Page 53
A marketplace of political ideas......Page 56
Citizen equality......Page 59
Equality of ideas......Page 61
Combining equality of ideas and citizen equality......Page 63
Quantity, scarcity and competitive advantages......Page 64
Progressive vouchers......Page 65
Drowning out and scarcity......Page 67
Listener autonomy......Page 69
Electoral and political expression......Page 71
Conclusion......Page 73
The risks of state intervention......Page 74
Insulating the democratic process......Page 78
Transparency requirements......Page 79
Limits on expenditures and donations......Page 80
Subsidies......Page 82
Forums for communication and participation......Page 85
Conclusion......Page 88
4 Access, influence and lobbying......Page 90
Cash for favours, access and corruption......Page 92
Political corruption and political equality......Page 93
Criminal law controls......Page 96
Lobbying......Page 99
Professional lobbyists......Page 101
Hired guns and privileged access......Page 102
Members of Parliament......Page 106
The executive......Page 112
A participatory process......Page 114
Strengthening transparency......Page 116
Regulating the lobbyist......Page 117
Conclusion......Page 122
5 Beyond equal votes: election campaigns and political parties......Page 124
Background......Page 125
Spending limits......Page 129
Donations and political favours......Page 133
Donations and political equality......Page 136
Setting a limit......Page 139
State funding......Page 140
Making subsidies responsive......Page 143
Electoral support and membership......Page 144
State funds following donations......Page 145
Voucher schemes......Page 146
Responsiveness and other democratic goals......Page 147
Institutional donations......Page 148
Conclusion......Page 153
6 Public spaces, property and participation......Page 155
Public spaces and a shrinking subsidy......Page 156
Private management of publicly owned spaces......Page 163
Public spaces and private land......Page 166
Rights of access......Page 169
A common law right of access......Page 171
A public authority under the Human Rights Act......Page 173
A statutory right of access......Page 175
Privacy and the home......Page 178
Property rights......Page 179
The rights of the owner......Page 176
Conclusion......Page 181
7 The mass media: democratic dreams and private propagandists......Page 183
The mass media and democracy......Page 185
Ownership limits and democratic goals......Page 198
Methods of limiting ownership......Page 201
Paying for access......Page 189
Media owners......Page 190
Market pressures......Page 193
Owner interference and market pressures......Page 195
Safeguarding editorial and journalistic autonomy......Page 206
Indirect subsidies......Page 208
Direct subsidies......Page 210
State-owned media......Page 211
Rights of access......Page 213
Paid advertising......Page 214
Subsidised access......Page 217
Impartiality......Page 220
Media sectors and freedom of expression......Page 222
Conclusion......Page 226
8 Participation in the digital era: a new distribution?......Page 228
Lobbying......Page 229
Party funding......Page 231
Political debate in the new media......Page 234
Gatekeepers and intermediaries......Page 235
Equal chances to communicate......Page 240
Financing the online media......Page 245
An accountable media......Page 249
Possible solutions......Page 252
Conclusion......Page 255
9 Conclusion......Page 257
Index......Page 261