Abstract
Political economy concerns historical, legal and heterodox economics analysis of complex systems. This article attempts to analyze the current state of the European Union from historical, legal and interdisciplinary economics perspectives. Historically, the ancient Athenian democracy, the Holy Roman Empire and the early formation of the United States serve as examples of early innovative legal constructs of their times that were sui generis and share key features with the current European Union. Regarding legal developments, this paper discusses the bicameral parliamentary structure, electoral processes and populist pressures. The future of the European Union economy is likely to see an AI (r)evolution shaping markets and rising big data revenues. This develop necessitates the creation of a fifth fundamental freedom of data transfer within the European Union, as well as taxation of growth generated by big data. Heterodox economic growth theories will increasingly have to account for this growth.
Highlights
The first known democracy developed around the fifth century BC in the Greek city-state of Athens, which featured the first government by its people
As American and British observers said at the time, the struggle within state capitals raised a basic question about the balance of liberty and order, resulting in central government extensions in taxing, spending and regulating (Roberts 2012)
The European Union may need a transformation in conventional wisdom about the role of government alongside institutional adaptations to restore order in the midst of economic, political, and social crisis of Brexit
Summary
The first known democracy developed around the fifth century BC in the Greek city-state of Athens, which featured the first government by its people. In the ancient Athenian democracy model, not every citizen had the right to vote, run for office and participate in political discussions. Today’s European landscape faces a game-theoretically similar situation, with the more powerful countries’ voting rights within the European Union determining the common external relations of the European Union. These decisions affect the economic and legal situation of all European countries implicitly. Understanding the history of the ancient Athenian city empire being brought down by conflicts with peripheral countries underlines the case that living in harmony with third countries based on mutual respect and fairness will determine the future of the European Union and its European allies
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