State Capacity and the Problem of Authority Fred Block, University of California, Davis Rethinking the State in Globalized Capitalism March 23, 2018

Outline A Crisis of Democracy. The only viable and attractive solution is to expand democratic governance of the economy. But how?

Democracy in Retreat Around the Globe ► Deep relevance of Polanyi’s account of the 1920’s and 1930’s. ► When the global rules keep democratic governments from protecting their people, they will seek protection through other means.

The Defense of Democracy requires More Democracy Citizens must exert greater influence over the economy. This means more input into government decisions and more regulation of the economy.

Democratic Experimentalism Citizen budgeting. Deliberative assemblies. Empowering local level governments. Need for other efforts to narrow the gap between citizens and political elites.

The Problem such experiments face Democracy is not a solution in itself. It requires political leadership to forge coalitions across different constituencies. Doing without leaders is a fantasy that leads to either powerlessness or control by hidden elites.

The absence of an appropriate model for this type of leadership Weber offers other three types of leadership or authority—traditional, legal/rational, and charismatic. None of his types are adequate for politicians and government officials seeking to connect the public to policy making.

Missing type is Democratic Authority It is flexible and self-limiting, alert to its own fallibility. It is emergent in society but it has not been recognized or theorized. It is in the background to the current “me too movement” against men using power to coerce women.

Evident in the technology sector and among the agents of the entrepreneurial state Evans’ bureaucrats with embedded autonomy use this kind of authority. They have to recognize the limits of their power and knowledge. But they also have to cultivate flexibility in their strategies.

Success in the technology sector is a powerful indicator Flexibility is not automatically translated into administrative excesses. When participants in a network share a concept of appropriate authority, norms are recognized and enforced.

Conclusion Recognizing the importance of a new form of authority is central to the project of democratization. We can make government more flexible and more responsive, but it requires the model of democratic authority.