So Sen is right that democracy can be pressed into the service of reducing injustice. Indeed this can happen against expectations. Had there been neoclassical economists around in the late eighteenth century, they would have scoffed at the possibility of abolishing the slave trade. In the absence of a system of multilateral enforcement, Britain had to bear the enormous expense unilaterally-over several decades-without any obvious prospect of a return. whether democracy fosters or hinders economic growth. (Ian Shapiro)

So Sen is right that democracy can be pressed into the service of reducing injustice. Indeed this can happen against expectations. Had there been neoclassical economists around in the late eighteenth century, they would have scoffed at the possibility of abolishing the slave trade. In the absence of a system of multilateral enforcement, Britain had to bear the enormous expense unilaterally-over several decades-without any obvious prospect of a return. whether democracy fosters or hinders economic growth.

Ian Shapiro

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absence bear century democracy eighteenth enforcement expense growth injustice late multilateral possibility prospect reducing return right sen service several slave system trade britain neoclassical

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