Ricerc@Sapienza

Abstract: A Critique of the “Economic Constitution” Looking at the Transformations of Representative Democracy – The concept of “Economic Constitution”
(Wirtschaftsverfassung) is highly controversial and closely related to different constitutional mindsets of representative democracy. Even though its roots can be traced back to the Weimar context, its use can hardly be considered politically neutral still today. Therefore, it must be analysed in a historical and comparative perspective. The aim is to highlight its different constitutional meanings, in particular in the Italian and German debates, to examine how they reflect on the functioning of representative democracy. More specifically, this paper deals with the debates on the concept of Wirtschaftsverfassung, which took place during the Twenties and the Thirties and after the Second World War. During the Seventies, some scholars, moving from a strong critique of representative democracy, tried to impose binding fiscal rules to limit public borrowing. This gave rise to the fundamental concept of “Fiscal Constitution”. Considering the European integration process, this essay concludes with a proposal to use this concept to protect representative democracy.