King's College London

The role of money in politics is a constant theme in academic and popular commentary on democratic processes. At the same time, this debate has been overshadowed by American jurisprudence and considerations specific to the US context. The aim of this analysis is to clarify and extend arguments about the role of private money in electoral politics from the point of view of democratic political theory. The argument will be that private funding is incompatible with democratic principles on two grounds: it risks resulting in political inequality and it compromises judgmental autonomy. In short, elections are public events, core components of the democratic process that must be funded largely from the public purse if they are to be faithful to the central principles of democracy.