Homo Empathicus: On Scapegoats, Populists, and Saving Democracy - Hardcover

Alexander Gorlach

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0815738390 ISBN 13: 9780815738398

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press, 2021

Synopsis

How societies can preserve democracy with a human-directed social contract
The recent rise of populist movements, especially in Western democracies, has prompted considerable thoughtful analysis. This remarkable book, digging deeper than most such efforts, cites the global financial crisis as the proximate cause but finds the ultimate source in the twin failures of modern capitalism and the democratic state to fulfill a meaningful social contract for the vast majority of people.
The books focus on the financial crisis underscores how the promises of liberal democracy were repeatedly broken by financial and political elites, with a backlash emerging in the form of “us-against-them” populism. By undermining the hopes and livelihoods of millions of people, the crisis created its own narrative, with consequences capable of causing lasting damage to the liberal world order.
To restore the values of liberal democracy, the author proposes a “truly human social contract” supported by a narrative of empathy. The basis of such a contract is a new view of civil and social rights as an expression of human dignity, with economic factors understood as moral concerns, not just as a matter of who gets the most.

About this title

About the Author

Alexander Görlach is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He served in various positions at both Harvard and Cambridge University. Alex holds PhDs in linguistic and in comparative religion. He is an op-ed contributor to the New York Times.

From the Back Cover

How societies can preserve democracy with a human-directed social contract

In Homo Empathicus, Alexander Görlach interprets thecurrent crisis of democracy and how to respond to it. The book’s focus on the 2007—2008 global financial crisis underscores how the promises of liberal democracy were repeatedly broken by financial and political elites, with a backlash emerging in the form of “us-against-them” populism. By undermining the hopes and livelihoods of millions of people, the crisis created its own narrative, with consequences capable of causing lasting damage to the liberal world order.

To restore the values of liberal democracy, Görlach proposes a “truly human social contract” supported by a narrative of empathy. The basis of such a contract is a new view of civil and social rights asan expression of human dignity, with economic factors understood as moral concerns, not just as a matter of who gets the most.

From the Inside Flap

How societies can preserve democracy with a human-directed social contract

In Homo Empathicus, Alexander Görlach interprets thecurrent crisis of democracy and how to respond to it. The book s focus on the 2007—2008 global financial crisis underscores how the promises of liberal democracy were repeatedly broken by financial and political elites, with a backlash emerging in the form of “us-against-them” populism. By undermining the hopes and livelihoods of millions of people, the crisis created its own narrative, with consequences capable of causing lasting damage to the liberal world order.

To restore the values of liberal democracy, Görlach proposes a “truly human social contract” supported by a narrative of empathy. The basis of such a contract is a new view of civil and social rights asan expression of human dignity, with economic factors understood as moral concerns, not just as a matter of who gets the most.

Edition details

• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0815738390
• ISBN 13: 9780815738398
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160