This book is about good government-especially ethical and fair government. Using both theoretical methods and practical political analysis, John Attanasio shows how recent Supreme Court decisions and campaign finance regulations map onto a pernicious and growing inequality in America. He puts forward a novel solution grounded in a new principle of personal autonomy.

Looking at the transformation of wealth and political influence in America, this book demonstrates that the defining campaign finance cases such as Buckley v. Valeo and Citizens United have created a new constitutional arrangement that correlates with the dramatic rise in U.S. wealth and income inequality since the 1970s. The book goes on to show that this distorted income allocation has adversely affected demand, which may be spawning American economic stagnation.

The solution Attanasio proposes is the principle of "distributive autonomy," sharply contrasting it with the individualism of modern libertarian ideas, which have given rise to the radical inequality that reduces, rather than enhances, autonomy. Good governance must be centrally concerned with the distribution of freedom for all: if my autonomy matters, so does yours. Valuing the autonomy of others is authentic autonomy. Distributive autonomy is necessary to ensure that participatory democracy retains its truly democratic elements, which may be a necessary condition for long-term, prosperous capitalism.

A profound synthesis of theory and practice, Politics and Capital is crucial to understanding the ominous political and economic problems besetting twenty-first century America.

About the Author:
John Attanasio has advised courts, legislatures, ministers, and constitutional commissions on democracy, economics, and rule of law for over 30 years. He has mediated sensitive international disputes, and lectured widely around the world. Attanasio is President of the International Academic Institute of Legal Process and Procedure. He served as dean of two law schools and taught at two others. He was the first Fulbright lecturer to teach courses on American constitutional law in the Soviet Union. He was Director of the Rule of Law Forum which organized bilateral meetings of high-ranking government officials under the auspices of the State Department. He organized Supreme Court Summits and other meetings involving many of the most important highest courts in the world.