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John E. Mueller

Capitalism, Democracy, and Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery. Paperback – September 1, 2001

by John Mueller (Author)

4.4 14 ratings

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Democracy is overrated. Capitalism, on the other hand, doesn't get enough credit. In this provocative and engaging book, John Mueller argues that these mismatches between image and reality create significant political and economic problems--inspiring instability, inefficiency, and widespread cynicism. We would be far better off, he writes, if we recognized that neither system is ideal or disastrous and accepted instead the humdrum truth that both are "pretty good." And, to Mueller, that means good enough. He declares that what is true of Garrison Keillor's fictional store "Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery" is also true of democracy and capitalism: if you can't get what you want there, "you can probably get along without it."

Mueller begins by noting that capitalism is commonly thought to celebrate greed and to require discourtesy, deceit, and callousness. However, with examples that range from car dealerships and corporate boardrooms to the shop of an eighteenth-century silk merchant, Mueller shows that capitalism in fact tends to reward behavior that is honest, fair, civil, and compassionate. He argues that this gap between image and reality hampers economic development by encouraging people to behave dishonestly, unfairly, and discourteously to try to get ahead and to neglect the virtuous behavior that is an important source of efficiency and gain.

The problem with democracy's image, by contrast, is that our expectations are too high. We are too often led by theorists, reformers, and romantics to believe that democracy should consist of egalitarianism and avid civic participation. In fact, democracy will always be chaotic, unequal, and marked by apathy. It offers reasonable freedom and security, but not political paradise. To idealize democracy, Mueller writes, is to undermine it, since the inevitable contrast with reality creates public cynicism and can hamper democracy's growth and development.

Mueller presents these arguments with sophistication, wit, and erudition. He combines mastery of current political and economic literature with references to figures ranging from Plato to P. T. Barnum, from Immanuel Kant to Ronald Reagan, from Shakespeare to Frank Capra. Broad in scope and rich in detail, the book will provoke debate among economists, political scientists, and anyone interested in the problems (or non-problems) of modern democracy and capitalism.

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Princeton University Press
Publication date

September 1, 2001
Dimensions

6.14 x 0.79 x 9.21 inches
ISBN-10

0691090823
ISBN-13

978-0691090825
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Many thought-provoking ideas are packed into this nuanced work, and Mueller's case is strong and well-documented." ― Library Journal

"Mueller is an entertaining guide through economic and political history, using references to Shakespeare, Adam Smith, Hume, Mencken and many more writers to produce deft explanations of complex ideas." ― Publisher's Weekly

"Mueller's provocative book deserves a wide audience. . . . Mueller writes sharp, brisk, and witty prose that is unfailingly lucid."---Daniel J. Silver, The Weekly Standard

Review

"John Mueller deftly paces us through the practical realities of democratic development, rescuing the very idea of democracy from the idea mongers who have oversold the links between democracy and prosperity and between democracy and virtue. Stepping nimbly through the historic and contemporary links among democracy, capitalism, and virtue, he makes an important contribution to a practical theory of democracy."―Sam Popkin, University of California, San-Diego

"John Mueller has written an outstanding book about capitalism and democracy. He argues that each system has existed without the other, but that both are improved when they occur in tandem. Capitalism and democracy differ in cultural repute. Capitalism has a bad press even though as a result of competition, it tends to treat the customer well. Capitalist leaders are not 'robber barons,' but nice guys who finish first. Democracy, on the other hand, is perhaps over-praised: it embodies the play of special interests and while conceding political rights, only benefits the people as a whole when it is tied to a capitalist growth strategy. Fortunately, economists are now able to provide that strategy so that by following their advice, societies can progress. Neither democracy nor capitalism, however, satisfies all human or psychic wants. They are at best a reflection of Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery (where you can get everything you really need) rather than Alice's Restaurant (where you can get anything you want). Mueller has contributed a new and provocative interpretation that will resonate for years to come."―Richard Rosecrance, University of California, Los Angeles

"This is a lively, smart, well-written, and often compelling book. The frequent and pointed comments that visions of perfect democracy and markets miss the point of how a society can work are well made."―Russell Hardin, New York University

"We have here a seasoned political scientist and thinker with total control over his material. The result is an extremely engaging text, one that will be read for its excitement in the best graduate seminars and the best political science programs in the country. I have little doubt that, even in this heavily researched area of economics and democracy, his book will make a big splash, comparable to Inglehart's Culture Shift or Putnam's Making Democracy Work."―Michael Lewis-Beck, University of Iowa

From the Back Cover

"John Mueller deftly paces us through the practical realities of democratic development, rescuing the very idea of democracy from the idea mongers who have oversold the links between democracy and prosperity and between democracy and virtue. Stepping nimbly through the historic and contemporary links among democracy, capitalism, and virtue, he makes an important contribution to a practical theory of democracy."--Sam Popkin, University of California, San-Diego

"John Mueller has written an outstanding book about capitalism and democracy. He argues that each system has existed without the other, but that both are improved when they occur in tandem. Capitalism and democracy differ in cultural repute. Capitalism has a bad press even though as a result of competition, it tends to treat the customer well. Capitalist leaders are not 'robber barons, ' but nice guys who finish first. Democracy, on the other hand, is perhaps over-praised: it embodies the play of special interests and while conceding political rights, only benefits the people as a whole when it is tied to a capitalist growth strategy. Fortunately, economists are now able to provide that strategy so that by following their advice, societies can progress. Neither democracy nor capitalism, however, satisfies all human or psychic wants. They are at best a reflection of Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery (where you can get everything you really need) rather than Alice's Restaurant (where you can get anything you want). Mueller has contributed a new and provocative interpretation that will resonate for years to come."--Richard Rosecrance, University of California, Los Angeles

"This is a lively, smart, well-written, and often compelling book. The frequent and pointed comments that visions of perfect democracy and markets miss the point of how a society can work are well made."--Russell Hardin, New York University

"We have here a seasoned political scientist and thinker with total control over his material. The result is an extremely engaging text, one that will be read for its excitement in the best graduate seminars and the best political science programs in the country. I have little doubt that, even in this heavily researched area of economics and democracy, his book will make a big splash, comparable to Inglehart's Culture Shift or Putnam's Making Democracy Work."--Michael Lewis-Beck, University of Iowa

About the Author

John Mueller is Professor of Political Science at the University of Rochester. His previous books include War, Presidents, and Public Opinion, Retreat from Doomsday: The Obsolescence of Major War, and Quiet Cataclysm: Reflections on the Recent Transformation of World Politics. He is a regular contributor to numerous academic journals and has written editorial page columns in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times. Outside the field of political science, Mueller has written the prize-winning Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films (Knopf) and cowritten A Foggy Day, a musical presented at the Shaw Festival in Ontario.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press; Reprint edition (September 1, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0691090823
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691090825
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.06 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.79 x 9.21 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,845,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #888 in Free Enterprise & Capitalism
- #2,332 in Democracy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 14 ratings

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Peterzen21

Outstanding Book on Free Market and Democracy

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is probably the best book on capitalism and democracy that I have encountered: honest, free of preaching and blaming and well supported by facts. You may not like the laissez faire capitalism or believe that democracy is that perfect system that works everywhere or go beyond that and put equality above liberty as the ultimate goal of a just society but you will still benefit from John Mueller's book. It may not completely change your mind but will challenge your believes.

Helpful

Robert B

Not the worst, not the best.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 26, 2013

Verified Purchase

I was forced to buy this book for a political science class. It was a lot easier to read than many of the other books I bought for similar classes. Mueller provides some comic relief throughout the book as he describes the pros and cons of capitalism and democracy.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Caraculiambro

worth reading, but not what you think

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 9, 2009

I thought this was another book along the lines of "Freakonomics," "Naked Economics," or "Predictably Irrational," where the goal was to showcase a slew of counter-intuitive insights from economics and psychology -- the "Economics Can Be Fun" genre, if you will.

Not so. Though I got a lot out of this book, and parts of it made me think, on the whole I would characterize it as stuffy and uncomfortably theoretical.

It's philosophy, really. It's really a survey of how two ideas -- capitalism and democracy -- have been viewed over the years. It examines the ways in which, to paraphrase the first line of the book, capitalism has gotten a worse rap than it deserves, while democracy has gotten a better one than it deserves. (At the hands of poets, historians, novelists, politicians, etc.) It's almost literary history.

So a lukewarm recommendation for this one. There were parts that made me think, but now that I think about it, even those parts were really the author's quoting somebody else's ideas (quite a lot of this here), than coming up with anything original. On the whole, I'd say it's a lot less fun than the groovy cover and loony title seem to promise.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

The Independent Review, Winter 2001

A challenging look at capitalism and democarcy

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 11, 2000

Although capitalism and democracy are regarded by many as the twin engines propelling the United States into its present position of world leadership, discussions of what these institutions mean for Amercians in practical, everyday terms are exceedingly rare. John Mueller, a professor of political science at the University of Rochester, has taken a giant step toward examining the reality of capitalism and democracy...As he puts it, capitalism and democracy consistently fall short of the images and ideas conveyed by theorists and pundits.
Mueller is convinced that the free-market economy has proven its value. Government intervention cannot instill the values essential to successful enterprise, and over the long run it undercuts them...In any event, economic inequality is inevitable, whatever the economic system in place, and capitalism has the advantage over other systems of providing greater prosperity and rewarding moral behavior...
Whereas Mueller focuses on the negative images frequently associated with capitalism, his discussion of democracy concentrates on the unattainable ideal by which it is often judged...Especially important from Mueller's perspective is recognition of the fact that special interests and inequality are inherent in democratic systems...
Democracy may be grubby, chaotic, and constantly compromising, but it soundly beats any of the alternatives. Mueller concedes that authoritarian forms of government may occasionally produce great leaders, but he argues that in no nation have such leaders existed for any length of time. Democracy constantly reevaluates its leaders and provides the means for replacing them, and it has consistently demonstrated a capacity to thrive even with large amounts of citizen apathy, cynicism, and even ignorance...
Obviously, Mueller's bare-bones approach to democracy drives a stake into the core assumptions of many texts and courses on the history of political thought. Traditionally, the rise of democratic institutions in the West has been traced to religious, economic, and ideological forces that not only forced change but also provided a basis for the survival of democratic institutions...Mueller rejects all such appeals to specific preconditions-primarily, it appears, because he fears that reliance on such historical developments will inhibit the promotion of democracy in today's world...In Mueller's view, democracy now is in "fashion" (p. 204), and the only serious threat to it is the appearance of groups of armed "thugs" (p. 203)...
As the United States moves into the twenty-first century, it has established itself as the dominant political, economic, and military power in the world. Yet its leaders and intellectuals lack the sort of architectonic theoretical paradigms that have emerged on the continent and to which many American scholars continue to feel obliged to genuflect as models to be emulated. Mueller seems singularly unimpressed by the need to formulate overarching theoretical explanations...Mueller's position is that individual liberty propelled by self-interest has made a better, if imperfect and untidy world that can be justified on its own terms.

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Knoebel

A seminal book, best in class

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 5, 2008

Prof.Mueller tries to correct several misconceptions about capitalism and democracy.
a) Quite contrary to popular beliefs and the propaganda from a deafening chorus of anticapitalist voices Prof.Mueller posits, that capitalism tends to reward positive ethical behavior. "Nice guys come out first" .
b) For a variety of reasons this simple truth became obscured and capitalism tends to be maligned and is believed to be governed by the opposite priciples of theft, deception and moral depravity.
Reading Prof.Mueller`s book I remembered the opening line of a letter, Karl Marx wrote 1872 in reply to an article in a German business paper ("Concordia"). Summarily Marx adressed producers ("Fabrikanten") as experts in counterfeiting their merchandise.
This contrasts eerily with research findings, Prof.Mueller cites, which attest English and German producers a marked shift towards ethical behaviour during the 19.th century!
c) Following Prof.Mueller, democracy may be described to be the rule of a minority with acquiescence of the majority. And this minority rule with majority asquiescence happens to be not a defect but a
strongpoint. There may even be democracy without elections, because not the ballot box is to be considered the heart of a democratic government but the responsiveness towards special interests from society, which must be given the guarantee of peaceful pursuit against those in power.
Following the author`s very sensible train of thoughts I started wondering, wether we could call the period of Kaiserreich" in German history 1870 to 1914 a democratic period and there may be room for a democratic development in China - even without challenging the one-party rule.
I can gladly label Prof.Mueller`s book the most important title about capitalism and democracy I ever read. This is a seminal book for many years to come. I am very fortunate, to have come across it! Thank you indeed, John Mueller!

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

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