Capitalist Democracies

All liberal democratic polities have capitalist economies, but not all capitalist economies have been liberal and democratic.  Nazi Germany and current day China are examples.

Regimes which combine capitalism with democracy have all developed into what economists call welfare-state capitalism..  These states have taken a variety of forms.

The Gosta Esping-Andersen model consists of three regimes:

   A.      The conservative regime is most often found in Catholic countries and stresses job protection and high wages in order to allow a male breadwinner to be the sole support of his family.

   B.      The social democratic regime is found in the Nordic countries stresses government provision of social services and income supports to create a more egalitarian society and allow (some say require) both men and women to work.

   C.      The liberal version is found in the United States and, to a lesser degree, in other Anglo-Saxon countries and tries to offer government support for those who can’t work in the job market.  It generally has looser labor laws that make it easier to hire and fire people.

Lecture 35, Course Guidebook for “Thinking about Capitalism”, Jerry Z. Muller, The Catholic University of America, The Great Courses #5665, 2008, page 143.

I expect Pope Francis to favor the conservative regime found in Catholic countries.  This regime would not be expected to support equality of pay for women.

Bernie Sanders likes the Nordic model,  It requires both partners to work.

Could the American Dream be an Unintended Consequence of its liberal version?