Reinventing social democracy

There is a growing disenchantment with liberal democracies. In 'A World of Insecurity', Economist Pranab Bardhan situates its root cause in the economic and cultural insecurity of people

A World of Insecurity: Democratic Disenchantment in Rich and Poor Countries

Author: Pranab Bardhan

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Pages: 240

Price: Rs 499

An abiding belief in the economic and cultural salience of the democratic principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity characterises Pranab Bardhan’s work. Originally a native of India — an “unlikely democracy”— he has been resident in liberal, democratic, California since 1977. Not surprisingly, India looms large in his thoughts, though the book is about the political economy of growing global insecurity and its link to democratic despondency. Over the past decade the number of liberal democracies has reduced from 41 to 32,