Discussion Project Walzer on Democracy

Walzer argues that we should extend our democratic principles to the economic sphere, specifically to business firms. His strategy is to assume that political democracy is a good thing and then to argue that there are not sufficient differences between the political sphere and the economic sphere (between a town and a company) to justify treating them differently. So we should treat them both democratically.

Discuss and try to agree on answers to the following questions:

1. What democratic principle(s) does he identify?

2. What reasons does he consider (and criticize) for thinking that a business firm does not need to be run democratically?

3. His argument depends on the hypothetical example of ‘J-town’. Do you agree with Walzer:

a. That the residents of J-town are entitled to political democracy?

b. That the reasons given to justify private control of J-town also fail in the supposedly parallel case of a business firm?