Resumen de La fine della crescita e le sfide ecologiche alla democrazia
In this contribution we aim to investigate the link between democratic institutions and economic growth in a socio-historical perspective. From a historical point of view the Western democracies (Europe, and North America) took shape and developed in the course of the 20th century in deep symbiosis with the economy of capitalist growth, to the point that today it is very difficult to conceive many of the institutions, of the functioning and dynamics of liberal democracies outside this context and this symbiotic link. In analysing this link we will try to take into consideration three successive perspectives: the historical-genealogical foundation, the establishment of a basic consensus towards liberal democracies and the replacement of the citizen with the consumer in the public space. In the second part of this paper, with reference to the present moment and future perspectives, we will ask ourselves precisely about the possible collapse of this union between democracy and growth that we believe is no longer possible or desirable.
