Call for Papers

The 7th International Conference Economic Philosophy will be held in Reims on May 29th 31st, 2024 . It is organized at the University of Reims Champagne Ardenne by the REGARDS economics and management research center. As in the 2023 edition, on the eve of the conference (May 28th) a young scholars’ workshop will be held.

This 7th edition of the conference will focus on the theme “Market(s) and Democracy”. All contributions in economic philosophy broadly conceived on this theme are especially welcome. We also invite contributions on any other topic related to economic philosophy. We are pleased to announce that the keynote speakers will be the professors Hélène Landemore (Yale University) and Dani Rodrik (John F. Kennedy School, Harvard University).

Markets and democracy figure, at least in contemporary Western societies, as two of the most significant collective decision procedures. Markets have been at least since the 19 th century the main device to allocate resources among members of society. Democracy as a general form of political regime is the main procedure to allocate political power, produce public goods, and, ultimately, choose public policies. Their articulation th rough a division of labor that aims to promote economic and political openness, competition, and accountability is often presented as a constitutive feature of “open access orders” as characterized by some economists and politic al scientists.

This simple and general view about the importance and complementary of markets and democracy hides however many interesting complexities. From an economic philosophy perspective, it invites us to explore at least three general sets of considerations:

First, there is a widespread tendency among economists and political scientists to endorse the analogy between markets and democracy. The analogy partly builds on notable attempts to develop an economic analysis of democracy that identifies a “political market” where a political supply meets a political demand. This approach studies the political market with the traditional economic tools of rational choice and game theory. At the analytical level, it is also motivated by the observation that markets and democracy can be both interpreted as collective decision procedures of their own. Though they significantly differ regarding their specific mechanisms and objectives, they nonetheless share formal attributes that make them amenable to an analysis in terms of collective choice rules. The appeal of the analogy also has more normative roots. It builds in particular on the normative belief that both consumers and citizens should be sovereign. Some critics have however argued that the market/democracy analogy is not only misguided but has also had a detrimental performative effect by reinforcing a conception of democracywhere citizens behave as passive consumers.

Second, a long-enduring concern has been that far from being complementary, markets and democracy are actually in conflict and that the development of the former ones is likely to undermine the other. This concern has taken many shapes and has been pushed in different been pushed in different directions. Libertarians for instance tend to regard democracy as an illegitimate substitute of directions. Libertarians for instance tend to regard democracy as an illegitimate substitute of markets to allocate resources and make collective choices, even in the case of public goods. On the other hand, many social scientists have entertained the idea that the development of markets has weakened traditional norms but also the civic and political values that sustain any healthy democracy. It is not uncommon to find a version of this thesis according to which markets (e.g., financial markets) are stripping citizens of their legitimate right to collectively decide their fate. This view of the relationship between markets and democracy is in striking contrast with more optimistic accounts that single out their complementary as part of the “inclusive institutions” that favor economic development.

Third, the prevalence of markets and democracy in contemporary Western societies echoes Francis Fukuyama’s largely discussed thesis that the fall of the Soviet Union meant the triumph of market-based capitalism and liberal democracies. More than thirty years after this proclamation, economic and political developments urge us to reconsider the possibility that neither markets nor democracy –– at least in its liberal version at least in its liberal version –– may be the ultimate social institutions making it possible for us to live together. Amid the 2007-2009 financial crisis and the rise of economic inequalities, there is growing discontent with the market-based economy and the public policies that are promoting it. But this discontent is also directed toward democracy, at least under its representative form. On the other hand, polls suggest that, especially in Western European and North American countries, the support for democratic values and institutions is weakening in favor of more authoritarian forms of government. Finally, some indicators strongly suggest that the combination of market-based economic and democratic political institutions characteristic of liberal democracies is losing ground worldwide.

These three sets of considerations revolve around the same general twofold question of (i) the distinctive nature of societies that rely on markets and democracy to make collective choices and (ii) what makes these societies normatively appealing (or not). This question is broad and can be explored from a large range of theoretical perspectives and empirical methods that are constitutive of the diversity of approaches at the intersection of economics and philosophy. We welcome in particular contributions about the relationship between markets and democracy that use formal tools and models from the social sciences (game theory, social choice theory, agent-based modeling, …); that mobilize the history of ideas; that adopt an interdisciplinary approach combining political or social philosophy with normative economics or political economy; and that take a feminist perspective.

Contributions can therefore tackle a large range of themes, among which figuress for instance:

- The contemporary relevance of “elitist” views of democracy (e.g., Schumpeter)democracy (e.g., Schumpeter).
- The articulation between the “liberty of the moderns” and the “liberties of the ancient” in marketin market-based societies.
- The relevance of formal models and results from the social sciences (impossibility theorems, aggregation theorems) to the study and justification of democracy.
- The relationship between economic liberties and civic/political liberties.
- The role of democratic values in economic development.
- The relevance of the account of populism as “illiberal” democracy.
- Markets and democracy in non-capitalist societies.
- The relationship between activities held outside the market (e.g., care work) with democratic and market-based processes of allocation of political power and resources.
- The study of interdisciplinary ventures between economics and political sciences.
- The comparison of consumer sovereignty and citizen sovereignty.
- The place of deliberative democratic decision processes in a market economy.
- The issue of the consistency between markets and capitalism.

FULL SESSIONS SUBMISSION

We also invite submissions of full sessions on any topic falling into the scope of economic philosophy. A proposal should provide a title, a short (about 500 words) description of the session, and a list of three contributions, indicating authors’ names,affiliations, and the title of the contributions. Propositions of sessions should be submitted by email at 7philoeco@univ-reims.fr. Each contribution should be submitted on the website of the conference. The full session proposal and each session proposal and each of its contributions will be evaluated by the scientific committee.

The timeline for submission of full sessions and their contributions is the same as for simple contributions.

A fair number of parallel sessions will be held in English, so that participants will always have an open choice between sessions in English or in French. Part of the staff will be bilingual.